Where We Learnt To Swim

Somewhere in your past there is a pool, a baths, or a stretch of water where it all began. 'Where We Learnt To Swim' is a fully illustrated chronology of the baths, pools, ocean enclosures, swimming clubs and athletes that helped shape Sydney, and it's people over more than 238 years. Through rare photographs, fascinating stories and meticulously researched accounts, the book follows the evolution of our baths and pools from the rough timber bathing houses of the colonial era to the grand municipal pools and ocean baths that became landmarks of community life.

These were far more than places to cool off. They were meeting places, training grounds, social centres and gateways to the water. Generations learned to swim within their nets and walls, while others went on to become champions, Olympians, surf lifesavers and pioneers of aquatic sport.

Richly illustrated and filled with surprising discoveries, 'Where We Learnt To Swim' reveals how a scattered collection of bathing structures grew into one of the world's great swimming cultures. Along the way it captures changing ideas about recreation, public health, architecture, civic pride and the Australian love affair with the water.

Whether you are a swimmer, historian, local history enthusiast or simply someone who remembers the pool where it all began, this book is an invitation to rediscover the places, people and moments of Where We Learnt To Swim.