OUR MISSION: custodians of this gem of the Mountains
Welcome to the blog of Friends of Blackheath Pool & Memorial Park (FoBP&MP).
Blackheath Pool & Memorial Park is our 'fragile oasis' at the top of the mountains.
Three years of concerted community action successfully snatched Blackheath Pool from the brink of demolition. The fully renovated Pool reopened in 2006, & is gradually re-establishing its role as the heart of our community. It's a socially inclusive space, open to all ages, allowing a comfortable mixing of adults, young people & children - an enduring symbol of peace, & the healing value of water.
Friends of Blackheath Pool & Memorial Park has a mission to continue to protect this gem of the Mountains for the community now, & for future generations. Blackheath Memorial Park surrounds Blackheath Pool - one of the most beautifully situated public swimming baths in Australia - set amongst sweeping lawns & mature rhododendrons, at 1065 metres above sea level in the Blue Mountains of NSW. Opened in 1931, The Memorial Park was built by the community, for the community in the years following WW1.
FoBP&MP core members were intimately involved in the Save the Pool campaign (2003/4), and on Blue Mountains City Council's Blackheath Pool Advisory Group (BPAG) during Pool reconstruction (2004-6). Many were members of it's predecessor Blackheath Memorial Park & Gardens Advisory Committee (BMP&GAC).
In 1921 citizens of Blackheath raised £1,000 to finance work on establishing the Memorial Park. The Pool was converted from a railway dam by volunteers in the 1920s & 30s: “During working bees on Wednesday afternoons and weekends the dams are cleaned out, graded to the necessary depths & the bottoms gravelled. Old railway sleepers are painted white and placed to define the embankments.” The grand opening was held during the Christmas holiday in 1931 [for more detail see Historical TIMELINE ].
In 2003 the Pool was closed by Council when structural integrity failed & water began leaking into Popes Glen Creek. On Australia Day 2004 concerned citizens organised the Blackheath Pool Party (without a Pool), to protest the closure – 500 people gathered in the Park for a community photo. The next day Council voted unanimously to reconstruct the Olympic Pool, install a new water treatment system and shade cover over the toddlers pool [for more detail see Five Years Ago].
In 1921 citizens of Blackheath raised £1,000 to finance work on establishing the Memorial Park. The Pool was converted from a railway dam by volunteers in the 1920s & 30s: “During working bees on Wednesday afternoons and weekends the dams are cleaned out, graded to the necessary depths & the bottoms gravelled. Old railway sleepers are painted white and placed to define the embankments.” The grand opening was held during the Christmas holiday in 1931 [for more detail see Historical TIMELINE ].
In 2003 the Pool was closed by Council when structural integrity failed & water began leaking into Popes Glen Creek. On Australia Day 2004 concerned citizens organised the Blackheath Pool Party (without a Pool), to protest the closure – 500 people gathered in the Park for a community photo. The next day Council voted unanimously to reconstruct the Olympic Pool, install a new water treatment system and shade cover over the toddlers pool [for more detail see Five Years Ago].
The refurbished Pool complex opened on 25th February 2006. So the upcoming 2011/12 season is the sixth full season of the new Pool. With the original opening in the Christmas period in 1931, this season will see The Pool's 80th birthday!
Please feel free to leave any comments or suggestions about Blackheath Pool on this website, email us at friendsofblackheathpool@gmail.com or 
or join our Facebook Group: Friends of Blackheath Pool & Memorial Park
Thank you for your interest,
Simon Hare, Jen Kelly, Lyn York
Convenors, Friends of Blackheath Pool & Memorial Park.
or join our Facebook Group: Friends of Blackheath Pool & Memorial Park
Thank you for your interest,
Simon Hare, Jen Kelly, Lyn York
Convenors, Friends of Blackheath Pool & Memorial Park.
