Swimming Pool
The Cobden Pool has provided thousands of fun hours for residents and visitors of all ages – club and school training and carnivals, pageants, learn-to-swim classes, barbecues and just refreshing paddle and swim time.
The first inland pool between Geelong and Warrnambool, it was built in 1930. Previously, it was a natural spring water hole used for swimming.
At first, the pool was green and slimy as the water was gravity-filled/pumped from the Cobden Dam. With no filters, the water often contained frogs, eels and other fish. The pool was emptied at the end of each season and took three days to re-fill.
In the late 1940s, the pool was fenced to stop cattle getting in. Entry was threepence (3 cents).
The official opening of the A H Barrett (Swimming Pool) Reserve took place on December 6, 1968. It was conducted by Mr R J Hamer, later a Victorian premier.
Memorial gates were officially opened at a garden fete at the pool on November 5th, 1938. The Shire president told the crowd that the gates had been erected at the pool entrance by the sons and daughters of the late J H Vagg in memory of their father and the work he had undertaken for the advancement of the town and the district.
The northern bank was terraced in the early 1950s. It is now known as the Alma MacDonald Terrace (see above) in honour of Alma who was a great advocate for developing that part of the pool area. In all, Alma contributed 66 years of service to the management committee.
In the 1960s, the pool was tiled – previously, it was plain concrete – and in 1967/68, the current kiosk and changerooms were built. Earlier changerooms were at the eastern end of the pool.
For some years, the pool had both a springboard and fixed tower with two levels. The tower was dismantled because the water was not deep enough.
The pool has seen drama. It was a dreadful day for Cobden swimmers in 1940 when the body of 21 year-old Mrs Emily Tobs was discovered in eight feet of water at the bottom of the pool. And, in 1954, nine year-old Neil Gordon Hill, from Camperdown, drowned at a party.
The pool has been flooded many times. A flood in 1992 saw the changerooms go under – with rubbish bins and even a fridge spotted floating down the gully. On August 12th, 2010, torrential rain caused the Cobden Dam to flood and water flowed over the road into the pool. You could only just see the roof of the changeroom block with repairs costing about $50,000.
Most recent improvements include artificial grass on the terraces, shade structures, playground equipment . . . long may the town’s outdoor pool remain one of Cobden’s prime attractions.
