Another historic tidal pool upgraded

This week, locals were welcomed back to the sparkling waters of Pittwater’s Taylors Point Tidal Pool after a $280,000 revamp, funded through Council’s Tidal Pool Renewal Program.

Many people south of Bilgola may not have heard of Taylors Point, but its rich history will fascinate you.

Around 1889, Long Beach which stretched south from Avalon’s Stokes Point was broken into separate beaches, and the area became known as Taylors Point after convict John Taylor.

Taylor arrived in Australia as a convict in 1791 to serve a seven-year sentence. He later became a free man and received a grant for property in the area.

From 1941 to 1983 the Royal Australian Army used the area to test the firing ability and range of 5059 torpedoes before they were issued to submarines. Only three of these torpedoes ever went awry, luckily with no human casualties. Despite the firing station and outer wharf being removed in 1983, the HMAS Penguin Pittwater Annex is still in operation with the building now housing a diving and hydrographic school.

Records show that the first pool was constructed in the 1930s but may have been destroyed and rebuilt later. In 1967 shark proofing was installed on the seaward wall and palings replaced on the side walls.

In 1981, the pool was in danger of removal due to increasing maintenance costs, but a community campaign fought to replace it and it was re-constructed the same year.

Fast forward almost 40 years and inspections by Council staff raised concerns that the net at the site was no longer providing a safe and secure enclosure for swimmers. It was also discovered the jetty’s old boards were a trip hazard and the piles and structure holding the jetty required fixing and maintenance. The net was removed for public safety which resulted in an outpouring of community support for the re-instatement of the net. Hearing those concerns funding was prioritised to ensure the pool would be open for the 2020/21 summer swimming season.

To comply with numerous environmental requirements Council engineers and scientists with assistance from NSW Fisheries carefully relocated seahorses, including a pregnant male, prior to construction and have now installed seahorse ‘hotels’ to assist with protecting the animals into the future.

The design and quality materials used for the jetty, pool and netting will ensure many years of trouble-free service, reducing the long term costs associated with maintenance of these structures exposed to the harsh marine environments.

Local man David Everdell, who lobbied the council to re-instate the enclosure, has made the trek to the pool from his Terrey Hills home daily for the last ten years.    

“The new pool you have designed and built is absolutely fantastic,” said Mr Everdell, who is in his early 70s.

“The net, set off the poles with stainless steel angle bars, means it stays up no matter what the tide and so you can swim along it even at low tide.”

 “I like the fact that the water is always clean,” he said. “I just think this is a terrific job done just in time for the hot months to come.”

The pool can be accessed by a path on Hudson Parade, Clareville.