A New
Swimming Pool
With the swimming hole
on the Parsons property no longer able to hold water, the local people turned
to the Lobster Rivulet for their summer recreation. Many families had their own
favourite spots along the creek but a suitably deep and large enough water hole
existed on the Lobster just below the house currently owned by Rob and Sue
Torphey. Despite its freezing waters which flowed straight down from the Western
Tiers, it became a very popular swimming place and met the needs of the people
of Caveside for quite a few years.
However, during the
Summer of 1956/57, a well known and community minded citizen, Myrtle (Mrs.
Tommy) Robertson, voiced her idea that a more formal and safer swimming pool
should be built for the people, particularly the children, of Caveside. It
seemed that she didn’t have to work very hard to have her vision taken
seriously. Leigh Gurr, a prominent and much respected resident, with a
‘get-things-done’ attitude was off and running with the idea.
A meeting was held on
March 4th 1957, at the Caveside Hall, attended by 22 local residents,
at which the people voted to build a community swimming pool. A Committee was
appointed to report on the site for a pool and to oversee the organisation,
logistics, building and fund-raising involved in such a huge project.
Chairman of the Pool
Committee was Leigh Gurr, with Gavin Linger as Secretary and Cyril Linger as
Foreman of Works. Don Howe and Graeme Haberle were also founding Committee
Members and a Social Committee consisting of Mrs. Myrtle Robertson, Mrs.Edna
Linger, Mrs. Sylv Haberle, John Robertson and Bernie Howe had the mammoth task
of fund raising.
Mrs. Hazel Parsons, and
her son Joe, offered the Caveside Community a small parcel of land situated on
the Lobster Rivulet, which would be an ideal site for a pool and right next
door to where the former Parsons’ Lake once existed.
In the early 1900’s a
sawmill existed on the proposed site for the new pool, and although it is not
known who owned or operated the mill, it is believed that the mill was still
operating into the 1920’s when, possibly, it was destroyed by fire. However,
large grass-covered mounds behind the existing swimming pool change-sheds are
what remain of the sawdust piles from the days when the mill was a busy
employer of local men. And when the creek is low a rusting hunk of metal
protruding from one of the banks, can be identified as the boiler from the
sawmill - evidence of this bygone era in the history of the community.
Many years later, during
the late 1940’s and 50’s, Tom Haberle managed a magnificent vegetable garden on
the site and was well known throughout the community for the wonderful
assortment of vegies that he grew. Tom supplied his large family with his
home-grown produce and no doubt many members of the community also benefited
from his green fingers.
With the generous offer
of land from the Parsons family having been accepted by the Committee, work on
the pool begun almost immediately. Phones were scarce in Caveside at that time,
and Gavin Linger recalls how he used to jump on his push bike and ride around
the district notifying families of working bees. A labour force comprising
representatives from practically every family in the district worked tirelessly
and feverishly and the swimming pool was built within a few weeks. A
bulldozer, was supplied by Glen How to dig the initial hole. The dozer was used
to push the earth away, and to form a crude graduated hole, deeper at one end
than the other. After that it was manual labour with men of all ages wielding
picks and shovels and spades until the swimming pool took the required shape.
Gravel and river wash to mix the
concrete was shovelled on to trailers and
carted by the tractor load from various spots all along the Lobster Rivulet. The
younger men of the district, including some mere boys of 15 and 16, shovelled
and carted gravel until the days ran into weeks, and there was a mountain of
gravel in the area now used as a car park outside the pool. They mixed the
concrete in old cement mixers and would push wheel-barrow load after
wheel-barrow load across the road into the pool area where their fathers and
uncles (the ‘older’ men of the district) were creating the boxing, forming the
shape of the pool, measuring, cutting and shutting, …. and the all important
pouring of the cement.
When the last of the
concrete was poured, Keith How is said to have scratched the date in the wet
cement : 4-4-1957 – it was exactly one month from the date of the first meeting
when the decision was made to go ahead with construction. An extraordinary
community effort.
If there was one task to
equal the challenge of building the pool, it was the challenge of raising the
funds to pay for the pool. Many, many goods and materials were donated by local
families, and all labour was freely given, however, there were still
considerable costs and expenses to be met and bills to be paid.
The biggest fundraising
event at the time was the Queen Contest which was held in conjunction with a
Sports Day on Easter Monday, 22nd April 1957. The Sports Day raised
₤62.4.4d. while four local girls, Margaret Haberle, Janny Schoenmaker, Beryl
Gurr and Coralie Haberle raised the combined princely sum of ₤160.15.9d. in the
Queen Contest. Margaret Haberle was named Queen for her effort of raising the
highest amount of ₤80.15/-.
By the end of the year
Keith How had been officially appointed as Pool Caretaker, a position he held
for several years. A set of rules was drawn up for the pool, including a
closing time of 11 o’clock, and fees and charges were set for groups with
organised functions at the pool. If the group was less than 20 persons it was
1/- per head, otherwise it was ₤1 for a night function or 10/- during the day!
The Caveside Swimming
Pool was officially opened on Saturday December 7th 1957 by Mr. Gil
Duthie M.H.R. The Opening Day raised a further ₤68.15.00, and the Pool was a
fully functioning facility, free of debt. It was a proud and wonderful day for
the community.
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