A pub, a town hall and a pool or two: 1930s designs by Rudder & Grout
Enfield Pool (1933), Petersham Inn (1930s), Petersham Town Hall (1938) and North Sydney Olympic Pool (1936) were all designed by architects’ Rudder and Grout.
Read MoreEnfield Pool (1933), Petersham Inn (1930s), Petersham Town Hall (1938) and North Sydney Olympic Pool (1936) were all designed by architects’ Rudder and Grout.
Read More“Last day,” says Peter when I join him in the water at the Fanny Durack Aquatic Centre, aka Petersham Pool. “Are you going to miss it?” “Yes,” says Peter, who swims every morning and talks to everyone who comes to the pool. “Look at it, it’s beautiful,” he says, as he pushes under the water and[…]
Read MoreLast week when I paused at the end of a lap, I noticed three of the morning regulars scanning the pool for a spot. There were swimming lessons in lanes one and two with children pushing and gliding or doing torpedoes as it’s called today and learning to breathe in and bubble out. The rest[…]
Read MoreIt was the tiles that drew me to Granville Pool; 1930s hexagonal-shaped with a border in red and chequerboard blue and white. Bruce discovered them when he swam there after work, and a few days later I was heading west along Parramatta Road to Sydney’s fourth oldest Olympic pool after Enfield, North Sydney and Bankstown (RIP). As I[…]
Read MorePetersham marked the re-opening of the Fanny Durack Aquatic Centre yesterday with a big pool party. The celebrations started with a traditional smoking ceremony from indigenous elder Aunty Jenny, who led a trail of kids in cossies around the centre’s new 25-metre pool, toddler’s pool and water play area. Aunty Jenny’s ‘welcome to country’ was followed[…]
Read MoreLooking at an exhibition of contemporary textiles at the Sturt Gallery in Mittagong recently made me think of lines and stripes at pools. Called Parallels, artist Barbara Rogers explored the “diversity and language of the stripe; the simplest of all patterns…” Some of her silk textiles reminded me of particular pools especially ones she created in shades of green and blue. When[…]
Read MoreI felt like I’d like walked into an outdoor art gallery when we visited the refurbished Prince Alfred Park Pool in Surry Hills last Sunday. As the Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore said at the opening in May this year, “It’s quite simply an architectural masterpiece.” Designed by architects’ Rachel Neeson and her late husband Nicholas Murcutt,[…]
Read MoreOn Anzac Day there was a soft Autumn light over Leichhardt Park Aquatic Centre. The late afternoon sun glistened and sparkled in the blue water of the 50-metre pool. When I started taking photos, a lifeguard asked me what was so interesting in the pool. “There’s all these beautiful reflections,” I said. Oh,” he said, sounding unconvinced of[…]
Read MoreWhite, black, turquoise, red, mousey pink, mustard, dark grey, mint and pale blue. That’s what greets me when I walk into the Ruth Everuss Aquatic Centre at Auburn. Colours, patterns and shapes abound at this 1959-model pool. Above the water and below. On the grandstand full of peeling paint. On the tables, umbrellas, seats and chairs.[…]
Read MoreThose were the triumphant words of Kevin, father of the Moody clan on Wednesday night’s final A Moody Christmas on ABC TV. Photo from abc.net.au The pool was a long term project of Kevin’s which he announced in the first episode of the comedy series set over six consecutive Christmas days. Photo from abc.net.au Each year when[…]
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