McIver Women's Baths, Heritage swimming pool in Coogee, Australia
The McIver Women's Baths feature a rock platform with concrete walls built into the ocean at Coogee Beach, creating a natural seawater swimming enclosure. The structure takes advantage of coastal rocks and tidal patterns to form a sheltered bathing space.
The baths opened in 1886 and continued a tradition of bathing spaces that had existed for Eora women before European arrival. The site later became a training ground for local swimmers who would gain recognition far beyond the region.
This venue welcomes women from many backgrounds and faiths, each free to wear their chosen swimming attire while sharing the water. The space has become a place where different communities gather and feel equally at home.
Access is via Grant Reserve, which has changing facilities and showers, with opening times that shift based on the season and tides. It helps to check conditions beforehand since safety and water access depend on weather and tidal movements.
Olympic medalists Fanny Durack and Mina Wylie trained here before competing in the 1912 Stockholm Games, a fact that shaped the venue's place in Australian sports history. Few visitors realize how two world-class athletes developed their talents in this small coastal enclosure.
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