History: Early swimming spots in the Wingham area
Summertime means going for a swim, either at the beach, the public baths or private swimming pools, but in the early days people swam in rivers, creeks or make-shift swimming holes.
Wingham resident Graham Chambers, remembers the early swimming spots in the district. Here is an extract from his memoirs of those days.
"I was fortunate to learn to swim in the early 1940s in the Harrington lagoon. Being salt water gives you better buoyancy to first learn to float. My father owned a house next to the hotel in Beach Street so we spent our holidays there.
"I began school at the Wingham Brush School in January 1942. Our house in Isabella Street, being opposite the entrance to the Wingham Brush near to the school boundary, enabled me and others in the street a leisurely walk through the Brush to swim in the Manning River pool.
"The river pool was situated about 400 metres upstream from the boat ramp in a naturally formed basin in the river with a finely gravelled bottom formed by flood deposits.
"About three-quarters in distance across the river is a short reef of rock about one metre under water and we would swim over to this and stand on, to have a spell before swimming back. The south bank here is too steep to stand on and rest. This rock now has a channel marker on it. Also, a fig tree now grows on the bank at the site of the old pool and in line with the two cement blocks in the river. Only one of these blocks remains and is now covered at high tide.
"I remember being told years ago that John Skinner, early butcher in Isabella Street and past mayor and alderman on [Wingham] council, financed the construction of two cement blocks to fix a diving board on in the 1930s.
Wingham Duck Pond. Photo courtesy Manning Valley Historical Society
"The river front area between the boat ramp and Bight Bridge was reserved for public recreation on January 28, 1927.
"The Wingham punt (replaced by the Bight bridge) was also a popular spot to swim in 1940s and 1950s in the Manning River. Here we were able to dive off the punt hand rails. This was prohibited but most punt operators allowed this.
"Some swimmers would swim beside the punt when crossing the river to see how far they could swim and if they became tired, they could hang onto the punt flaps. The early hand operated punts were slow and would only travel at swimming pace.
"Belbourie bridge (over Dingo Creek on Gloucester Road) was another popular place for swimming, especially for children with their parents, before a new pool to replace the Duck Pool in Wingham was built in 1967.
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"At Belbourie bridge on the upstream side, there is a roadway that gives access to the water from both sides of the creek which is of reasonable shallow water with a fine gravelled bottom.
"The Cedar Party Creek spot, known as the '20 foot' owing to its depth in the sharp bend in the creek, was also a popular swimming spot over the paddock from the intersection of Queen Street and Flett Street. There was a diving board there entrenched in the creek bank.
"I only went swimming in the Duck Pond on a couple of occasions but always kept my head above water. There were not any toilet facilities at the pool. Excavation for the new Wingham Pool began in May 1967 by Jim Andrews, overseer on Wingham Municipal Council, with a doger donated by Mr A. Horsey of Wingham.
"The first pour of concrete took place in July 1967."
- Graham Chambers. From the archives of Manning Valley Historical Society.
The Duck Pond, situated in Cedar Party Creek not far from the present Wingham Pool, was well known for its often-questionable water quality.
It was described by Pauline Titterton as 'a hole in the ground which was cemented on the bottom and all four sides. The water was filthy as there was no filtration and the only chemicals to go in it was when a kid had to pee. The dressing rooms were awesome, no roof, timer framework and walls with no toilet or showers.' (Wingham Chronicle, April 24, 2017.)