A Special Pool.
There's no doubt we have passionate community support for the replacement of the Maryborough Outdoor Olympic Pool Complex.
In a happy and timely coincidence, last week the ABC released a comprehensive report on the situation councils across the state are facing with outdoor pools. Then this week, our Council is holding a special Meeting on that very topic.
The ABC website even has an interactive map showing the location of every outdoor pool in Victoria. When you click each one it tells you when they were built. This proves why ours is so special.
The report highlighted the life expectancy of outdoor pools at 50 years. At the time of Maryborough's closure for public safety reasons it had been operating for over 80 years!
This says something about our community's commitment to its pool: we kept it going well beyond the millennium with sheer grit, initiative, and a significant amount of patching.
There's also the magnificent pavillion, toddler's pool and surrounding parklands to be included. In fact significant work has continued on these.
Preserving heritage does add considerably to the cost, but it also shows why our ratepayers should be supported by other governments to replace the Olympic Pool. It's one of only two outdoor 50 metre pools in Victoria with such historic value - the other being at the Harold Holt Swimming centre in Melbourne.
While it's sink or swim for other councils, our Pool Complex is truly special. It's an important part of Australian architectural heritage, and deserves to be funded by all levels of government.
Deputy Mayor
Councillor Ben Green
