BRONTE POOL BACK IN THE SWIM – FINALLY

By Dan Hutton on December 6, 2016 in

The historic Bronte Pool has withstood the test of time for more than a century, but this year it failed to withstand the test of human error.

Earlier in the year the pump broke down and after much deliberation from Waverley Council it was decided to send to Germany for a new one. And so the wait began.

A few years ago Council was told by a local maintenance man that the original pump was in a state of disrepair, but nothing was done about it until it finally gave up and a temporary mobile pump was shipped in from Newcastle and set up on the promenade.

The three swimming clubs that use the pool for weekend competition in summer and winter continued to use the pool while awaiting the new German model.

But, alas, Mother Nature decided to unleash a tempest in the form of a huge east coast low in early June, which battered the coastline and smashed Bronte Beach and its surrounds.

Despite early warnings of this potential natural disaster, the pump was not moved and remained on the promenade until the full brunt of the storm relocated it, smashing the machine and rendering it useless.

Waverley Council said they knew there were ‘leaks’ in the pool and earmarked it for a total makeover, using the downtime from the storm damage to begin the work.

It wasn’t until the second week in November that the covers came off and revealed a bright new pool to the public. To their credit, the successful tenders for the work did a great job, but the question has to be asked: why did it take more than six months?

No one can predict the ocean, but there is technology available such as the Bureau of Meteorology website, and when excuses are made that strong surf conditions undid some of the work, why didn’t anyone access this information and wait until calmer conditions to reline the pool?

A new Aristone surface was laid, but it was damaged by waves, so why was it done when there were warnings of dangerous surf conditions?

In October there was a period where the surf was virtually non-existent for more than a week with hardly a wave lapping on the shoreline, so why wasn’t the resurfacing done then given it took a couple of days to cure?

Council estimated the total cost of the refurbishment of the pool was around $900,000, and, contrary to popular belief, there was no insurance for an ‘act of God’, although there were a few grants issued to offset the costs.

Waverley Council has done a great job in getting the beach and its surrounds back to their natural beauty with new walls along the promenade, and a new ramp and fencing inside and outside the pool.

But we will now have to wait to see if Bronte and its pool can again stand the test of time and bear the brunt of Mother Nature’s fury, because it is inevitable that it will happen again.