General News
18 March, 2025
Pool decision supported
Following council supporting a funding application for the outdoor pool the complex's advocacy group reflect on the role they played.
Six weeks since their first meeting, the outdoor pool’s community advocacy group reflected on their incremental win.
Last Wednesday council voted in favour of a funding application to the Victorian Government’s Regional Community Sports Infrastructure Fund (RCSIF).
If successful, the application could see the partial reopening of the Octagonal Wading Pool and 25 metre pool with the Olympic-sized pool on hold until more funding is found.
Duncan Bates, who started the community advocacy group now known as Friends of Maryborough Outdoor Pool Precinct Inc, said he believes the community’s efforts were key to council’s action.
“I’m also convinced that without this group having brought the community together and shown the council how keen we are to progress it they wouldn’t have pushed for this grant,” he said.
During the council meeting, Central Goldfields Shire mayor Grace La Vella said supporting the application continued community efforts.
“Councillors this is an incredible opportunity to keep up the momentum of what our passionate and relentless community are fighting so hard for,” she said.
When the group was originally formed Mr Bates believed council needed one point of contact for the pool in the community.
“If you imagine a football ground [it] has an obvious user which is the football club,” he said in January.
“There’s so many different users for the outdoor swimming pool there’s no one point of contact. So the council, I think, struggles getting a grasp on who to go to if they have any questions about what’s needed.”
Since then the group was contacted by council on February 27 for a funding support letter and worked in partnership with them to develop an FAQ.
“There are still some pretty pertinent questions that haven’t been answered by council,” he said.
However, Mr Bates is hopeful these will be discussed in future as things have been moving very quickly.
“We’ve only been going a short time and it’s been a relatively positive journey so far so I’d hope that it keeps going in that direction,” he said.
Due to stage one’s cost at $4.5 million, including $1.35 million in borrowings, plus $5.5 million for stage two, concerns of cost were raised by some councillors.
While ideally Mr Bates hopes the project costs less, he believes the Maryborough Olympic Outdoor Pool Complex is something the community needs.
“Lots of things cost lots of money but it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re not worthwhile,” he said.
Councillor Liesbeth Long was concerned the Olympic-sized pool will remain closed “indefinitely” due to challenges caused by the economic climate.
Mr Bates believes even having the 25 m pool and the Octagonal Wading Pool will improve swimming culture in Maryborough.
“Half of something is a hell of a lot more than nothing of nothing. We could have nothing open and it would be rotting,” he said.
“I see it as a stepping stone to getting everything open. Rome wasn’t built in a day and hopefully this is just one step in our journey towards getting our Olympic pool open.”