If you’re interested in building a swimming pool for your home, then it’s important to choose a reliable, licensed pool builder. This will ensure that you receive the best quality of work, and will protect you from any potential problems. Look for a company that offers a written estimate of all costs associated with your project, as well as a detailed description of the work to be completed. If possible, also ask to see a portfolio of past work that the company has performed.

The southern two-thirds of the NSW coast is largely a collection of short to medium-length sandy beaches, nestled between rocky headlands. Where those headlands are made of sandstone, an ideal balance exists between a material that can be excavated fairly easily but is stable over human time scales. This allows pools to be sited in the sea, without altering the shape of surrounding beaches or filling them with too much sand. Ocean pools and magnificent sandstone buildings are just two manifestations of this unique geography.

Coogee, for example, boasts one of the most beautiful tidal pools in Sydney: Wylie’s Baths, built into the cliffs by Henry Alexander Wylie, a champion long distance and underwater swimmer. Other notable ocean pools include the Coogee Bay Baths, with raised decking that enables you to soak up spectacular views of Wedding Cake Island and the Pacific Ocean. McIver’s Ladies Baths is the only ocean pool in Australia that’s exclusively for women and children, and dates back to the 1880s.

However, not all of Sydney’s ocean pools are in good condition. Many of them have been damaged by poor governance and a lack of funds, and many are closed to the public because of safety issues or to protect the integrity of the structure. The story of Sydney’s iconic pools is a tale of contested ownership, misguided funding, and a failure to understand the unique nature of these natural treasures.