Tumble Turns (1st edition and revised edition) by Shane Gould

At the time of writing the first edition (published 1999), Shane was preparing for her involvement in the Sydney Olympics in 2000. The revised edition (2003) has an additional section Part 6 -Reformation, which includes chapters on the Sydney Olympics, Learning to Swim Again and New Life New Love.

Shane Gould was somewhat a childhood hero to me (though I hate the word ‘hero’ when applied to sportspeople! To me heros rescue people from burning buildings....) . When Shane was winning her Olympic medals in Munich, I was on my way to a Girl Guide camp in Perth - crossing the continent on the Indian-Pacific Railway. I remember the excitement in the train as they turned the radio on in the passenger lounges. 

Olympic champion, Munich 1972

I had followed her brief swimming career as a teenager (she is one year older than me) and in recent years took a keen interest in her contribution to cultural history through a shared passion for the role public swimming pools play in Australian culture. 

Then Shane appeared on, and won, the third season of TV game show Australian Survivor. Anyone who has doubts about “how she did it” needs to read this book! Talk about a story of resilience and the acquisition of the mental and physical skills needed to weave your way through a communal experience and emerge a champion once again! 

Australian Survivor winner, 2018 

The chapter in the revised edition of her book, about "re-learning" how to swim, in response to changing body physiology as one ages, and the need to be able to swim without injury when not a teenager in intensive training makes interesting reading. Shane says: "To me my new style feels easier and more graceful, and the less I do the more energetic my movements are. 'Letting go' of muscle strain and tension is a mantra I repeat. It feels light lively, harmonic and very powerful". 

That was evident when watching Shane tear up the water in any swimming challenge in Survivor. It was beautiful to watch. 

Darelle and Sally's Swimming Adventures - Clovelly Beach 16 October, 2016

Ready to snorkel

Until 1913 Clovelly was known as Little Coogee. It was named for a local estate of that name, which was named for the village of Clovelly on the north Devon coast. 

A tram line was completed to the suburb by 1913. What a pity it no longer exists, as traffic is very heavy. The line closed in 1957.

The concrete foreshores were constructed during the Great Depression as part of a work scheme. 

Clare Dennis (1916-1971) was a breaststroke gold medallist at the 1932 Olympics. She grew up in Clovelly and learned to swim in this bay. There should be a pool named after her, as there are for other Australian Olympic gold medallists (eg Ian Thorpe, Andrew Boy Charlton, Bev Whitfield, Dawn Fraser, Murray Rose, Michael Wenden, Fanny Durack)

Approaching from the north, looking over the long narrow inlet of Clovelly towards Coogee and the headland at Maroubra

Clovelly Bay

The surf rescue boat at the entrance to the bay is a good marker to swim around when doing laps 

The first surf life saving club was formed in 1907. 

Looking back towards the beach

The concreted edges and apron of the bay are the closest we have to a European style lido

Seaweeds underwater

Dog waiting eagerly for its human/s to return. No dogs allowed below

The yummy mummies have arrived

And a pool

The beach

Nearby, the bowling greens with the best view in Sydney. Looking north towards Bondi

And the cemetery with the best location in Sydney

Clovelly Bay before concreting

Clare Dennis in the lead at Los Angeles Olympics 1932

Clovelly swimmer Clare Dennis (middle in swimsuit) with team-mates Bonnie Mealing to her left and Frances Bult to right, Chaperone, and sprinters Eileen Wearne (Aus) and Thelma Kench (NZ) at 1932 Olympics. 

Darelle and Sally's Swimming Adventures Part 4: Murray Rose Pool (formerly Redleaf), Double Bay

The enclosure, formerly known as Redleaf Pool, in Sydney Harbour is part of Seven Shillings Beach. It was built in 1941. I've written earlier about the beach and pool - click here. Do have a look - the story about Captain Piper after whom the headland point is named, is a hoot!  More pics here. 

Maybe this is the red leaf?

Our approach:

In August 2012, following his death, the pool was renamed Murray Rose Pool. Rose was an Olympic champion who learned to swim in this pool. He won the 400m and 1500m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle relay golds at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, and defended the 400m title in 1960 at the Rome Olympics. He broke 15 world records over 9 years.


A feature of the pool is the elevated boardwalk all around - great for jumping from.

...or singing "My Heart Will Go On" (theme from Titanic) from:

Will she, or won't she...

She did!

...and the two floating pontoons, popular for sunbaking on, and jumping and diving from.

There's a baby swimming area:

and a good cafe / kiosk (never far from an espresso machine in Sydney):

and a lot of grass and shade if lying on sand isn't your preferred option:

Adjoining the pool is a beautiful heritage garden, Blackburn Gardens.

Seated Woman II by Sam Harrison, unveiled 14 march 2013. Commissioned by Woollahra Council as part of the Women in Woollahra project, which recognises and celebrates the contribution of women.

Parking is a problem for visiting this beach - you have to try to find parking on the main road 100 m up the hill, or use public transport, or walk a reasonable distance. We were lucky and fluked a very convenient parking spot.

Your intrepid reporters:

Beverley Whitfield Pool, Shellharbour

Copyright Peter de Graaff 6 July 2014

copyright Peter de Graaff 6 July 2014

Recently my friend, Peter de Graaff, who is a very talented photographer, posted these pictures on his Facebook page and his blog.

With Peter's permission I post them here.

Peter says:

"The photos were taken at the Beverley Whitfield pool in Shellharbour (near Wollongong). It is the ocean pool in the village. The photos were taken on the morning of Sunday 6 July, just after sunrise. There had been a cold snap, so it was quite chilly and only the hardy were in the pool.

The camera used was a Holga-120WPC - this is a pinhole or lensless camera, that uses 120 size film and can produce either 6 x 9 cm 0r 6 x 12 cm negatives. The film I used was FujichromeVelvia 50. This is a highly colour saturated, high contrast, fine grained, slide/transparency film that is usually developed in a 3 bath process with E6 chemistry. I instead cross processed the film using C41 chemicals, in a two bath process, that resulted in the production of colour negative film, instead of slides. Cross processing, or xpro, occurs when colour film is developed in alternative chemistry to that which has been intened by the manufacturer. The result of cross processing can be unusual tones and colours."

See more of Peter's work here  and here

copyright Peter de Graaff 6 July 2014

Information about the pool from the Shellharbour Heritage Inventory

"The Beverley Whitfield Pool is the only extant example of a 19th century ocean baths in the Shellharbour area and the only NSW ocean baths named in honour of an Olympic and Commonwealth swimmer,
Beverley Whitfileld."

[Dawn Fraser pool is a harbour pool; Ian Thorpe and Michael Wenden pools, and possibly others, are stillwater pools]

The pool dates from 1894. It was upgraded in 1994 and named to honour local Shelharbour woman, Beverley Whitfield ( 1954 - 1996). Bev, a breaststroke champion, won gold and bronze medals in the 1972 Munich Olympics, 3 gold medals in the 1970 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games and 2 silver medals at the 1974 Christchurch Commonwealth Games.

Sadly, she died in 1996 at the age of 42.