In the early 1900s a natural rock pool was present in the rock platform below the Dee Why Head section where people used to camp. In the 1930s, under the Unemployment Relief Scheme, the North Curl Curl rock pool was built by extending the natural pool at a cost of 400 pounds. In 1947 the pool was severely damaged in a storm and it was not reconstructed until 1957.

Bronte baths are located at the southern end of Bronte beach. The baths are also known as the Bond Ocean Pool after swimming teacher, Major Bond. The pool is very photogenic and has been the subject of many photographers and artists. It has featured on postcards since the early 1900s. 

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“This is probably my favourite rock pool to photograph in the Northern beaches,” says photographer Ignacio Palacios. “It is beautiful from either the land, the sea or the sky. I have been to this pool at sunrise and sunset more than at any other rock pool in Sydney.”

Bondi Icebergs members earn their place by swimming three out of every four Sundays during winter for five years. In winter the ocean water is already teeth-chattering cold but on the opening day of winter it is tradition to throw ice into the pool to further test the endurance and hardiness of the swimmers. Women have only been allowed to join icebergs since 1994 and there are now 350 members. 

In 1887 the ocean baths opened for segregated bathing. The Bronte Baths 1887 Regulations stated ‘gentlemen could bathe between daylight and 10am and from 4pm ’till dark each day. Ladies were welcomed from 10am to 4pm daily’ except on Sundays and Public Holidays, when the baths were reserved exclusively for men ‘from daylight to dark’ and that ‘each person using the baths shall wear an appropriate bathing dress’. Baths entry cost four pence for an adult. 

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The Ivo Rowe pool in Coogee is a tiny pool accessed by steep steps from the coastal walkway. In the 1940s this rock pool was popular with local children and in 1965 the site’s main natural pool was enlarged. From 1965 to the early 1980s local residents kept the pool clean and the seaweed they took out made this spot well known by local fishermen for catching blackfish.

The 25m Mona Vale rock pool, built in the 1930s, is located on the tip of a sand spit on the rock shelf between Bongin Bongin Bay and Mona Vale Beach.When the tide is high, the pool is surrounded by the ocean making it look like an island. When the tide is lower and there aren’t waves crashing over the pool, often the surface of the pool takes on a glassy tranquil look.

Coogee Ross Jones Memorial Pool has walls similar to the top of a sand castle and is situated next to the Coogee surf club. The Coogee Penguins and the Coogee Huskies, two winter swimming clubs are connected with this pool.

The pool was built in 1947 by Randwick Council and funded by a compensation payment from the Commonwealth government to Council for war-time damage to Randwick’s beaches. This was a total amount of 963 pounds plus a further 350 pounds for the protective walls.

Mahon rock pool is located north of Maroubra beach and it was built in 1932 by Randwick Council as an Unemployment Relief project. It is cut into the rock and has a wonderfully natural feel to it, which makes it very popular among photographers. 

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In 1988 the Mahon Pool was in terrible condition and two separate petitions with a combined total of 313 signatures were presented to Randwick Council by locals urging improvements which were delayed by a year because of rough seas. Extensive repairs were carried out and in 1994 the National Trust classified the Mahon Pool and listed it on its heritage register.

The Mahon rock pool at north Maroubra. Rock pools are not peculiar to Sydney, but they are an intrinsic part of our coastal heritage and a contemporary community hub. 

Sydney’s most famous beach is Bondi and Bondi Icebergs Pool is arguably the most famous ocean pool in Australia.

With a length of 50 meters and eight lanes, this is a great pool to train in. It opens every day except Thursdays and it is home to Australia’s best-known winter swimming club – the Bondi Icebergs Club, which was founded in 1929 by a small group of friends.

The natural rock pool at Mona Vale on Sydney’s northern beachers was enlarged as part of the Unemployment Relief scheme. The pool was cut deep into the rock shelf to allow it fill and empty while protecting it from the full force of the waves. Cutting the rock pool deeper into the rock shelf allowed  the flow of water, while the wide rock shelf protected the pool from the waves. 

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An aerial shot of the rock pool at Mona Vale on Sydney’s northern beaches.

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North Narrabeen rock pool is located at the entrance to Narrabeen Lagoon. The characteristic boardwalk between the pools is an original element and has been replaced many times.

The decking surrounds a 50m by 18m pool within a larger 70m by 40m pool, while the 60m by 50m pool reservoir acts as a wading pool.

In the early 1900s these baths were known as Lloyds Baths. Lloyds Baths banned dogs and swearing and required bathers to wear swimming trunks. Lloyds Baths were advertised as ‘one of the few baths where the healthful past time of sun baking may be indulged in’.

In 1929 the baths changed names when Oscar E. Giles opened the ‘Giles Hot Sea Baths and Swimming Pool’ on the site of the former Lloyds Baths as part of the November ‘Come to Coogee’ week celebrations. Giles was a massage therapist and the Giles Baths offered a range of therapies to men and women in separate facilities. But only men could swim in the rock pool naked.

This rock pool is located on the rocky platform at the southern end of Newport Beach. In the early 1900s Warringah Council constructed three rock pools at Newport. Two of them were situated at the northern end and one at the southern end of the beach. All were built with concrete and small rocks from the surrounds. Unfortunately they were too exposed to the elements and soon deteriorated.

The North Narrabeen rock baths, like many along Sydney’s coast, were constructed in the early 1930s under the Unemployment Relief Scheme and they were one of the largest and most unique rock pools in Sydney. 

The Ross Jones Memorial Pool is home to theCoogee Penguins winter swimming club, which swim there on winter Sunday mornings. The group is promoted as a family club with an equal numbers of male and female members.

In the late 1920s Maroubra surf club constructed these rock pools at the southern end of Maroubra Beach. Since 2001 the rock pools had some issues with water quality but the pools are now safe for swimming. A bit complicated to photograph from land, the most beautiful way to capture these pools was from the air. 

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South Curl Curl rock pool is a 50-metre tidally flushed pool at South Curl Curl beach that was completed in 1926.

In 1966 the rock pool was shortened to provide Olympic standards for 50 metre competitions. This created a pool compound that consisted of a ‘stilling basin’, a main pool (50m by 12m) and a wading pool of 25m by 15m. In 1990 a deck was attached onto the clubhouse to extend the room available for the Frigid Frogs Club. In 1997 the children’s pool was partly concreted, entry ramps were established and pool walls restored.