This article is from Sydney WeekendNotes for Thursday the 8th of January 2009

The Dawn Fraser Baths is a swimming pool located in Elkington Park in Balmain and is the oldest swimming pool in Australia, having being built back in the early 1880's.

In case you were wondering it was renamed, Dawn Fraser is not over 130 just yet.

This heritage listed pool is unique in that it surrounds a patch of the harbour without actually enclosing it, allowing the tides to flow in and out.

At low tide a little beach appears, and during a king tide the pool can flow out of the entrance, although I've never been lucky enough to see that myself.

Here are a few pictures:

Picture 1 Picture 2 Picture 3

There are some more pictures on the website. Scroll down to the bottom of the page.

The entrance fee is a bargain at $3.80 for adults, and $2.50 for kids. The pool is open until at least 6.30pm from November through to April and until 7pm from December through to February.

There is a kiosk which sells the usual fair as well as a good breakfast on weekend mornings, and during the week on school holidays.

There is good parking around the pool, and you can get a bus to withing about 600 metres. See the 131500 website for the best route for you (type in Fitzroy Avenue, Balmain).

The Dawn Fraser Baths are located in Elkington Park (picture 1, picture 2) which has super views over the harbour and is another great little lesser-known spot for a picnic.


Why? Cool off at a very unique swimming pool.