Refurbishment of famous Sydney Harbour pool ready for spring

Treasured harbourside swimming spot Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool reopened in September following an extensive upgrade.

Critical maintenance work over the past 16 months at the Woolloomooloo Bay saltwater pool included:

• Replacing nearly 50,000 tiles and the waterproof coating on the 50m and 20m outdoor pools;

• Installing new decking and timber around the seating, shade sails and a lift for accessibility;

• Transitioning the pool heating and centre hot water systems from using fossil fuel gas to efficient electric heat pumps;

• Repairing the concrete and steel structures, including the grandstand and both pools’ outer shells;

• Upgrading the plant room.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore says these essential works mean Boy Charlton Pool will continue to be enjoyed into the future by the thousands of people who visit the facility every year.

“This is a harsh marine environment for an outdoor pool and working on a structure suspended above the harbour has been a challenging engineering feat,” she says.

Approximately two million litres of harbour water was needed to fill the pools and balance tanks.

History of the pool

In 1858, the city council built Sydney’s first free public baths on Woolloomooloo Bay, where the Boy Charlton Pool currently stands.

Rundown bathing structures were demolished in the early 1900s before the new Edwardian-style Domain Baths were built in 1908.

In 1968, the Domain Baths were replaced by a pool named in honour of the 1924 Paris Olympics swimming champion Andrew “Boy” Charlton, who broke several world records at this pool.

IMAGE: The refurbished Boy Charlton Pool. (City of Sydney – Chris Southwood)