Municipal+Pools+History

=Municipal Pools History= toc

Big Question
What is council doing to maintain and enhance the heritage value of the Municipal Pools? Poor heritage outcomes are frequently the result of heritage being added on at the last minute. Let's hope that is not going to happen in this instance.

**Municipal Pools Timeline**
This timeline includes newspaper reports, websites and documents. Login and share your stories. Password: 'sospools'
 * Help us continue the timeline for the pools.**


 * Do you have some history to share about the pools?**
 * Contact: Megan**
 * Email: sink_or_swim@xtra.co.nz**
 * Phone: 021 0225 4617**

Background Information
Waikato Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2253, 16 December 1886, Page 2
 * PUBLIC BATHS FOR HAMILTON**

Hamilton Borough Council, like many local bodies throughout New Zealand in the early 20th century, built the municipal pools to serve the local community. The council decided in June 1912 to raise a loan to build the baths which were then opened by Mayor Arthur Manning in December of the same year. Named the Coronation Baths in honour of Edward VII, who succeeded his mother Queen Victoria in 1911. Ohinemuri Gazette, Volume XXIII, Issue 2958, 24 June 1912, Page 2

Hamilton's Victoria St Municipal Pool is considered to be the first in ground pool established in New Zealand and still operational. Built in 1912, it has a 'Heritage B' status and is situated in an area of historic heritage.

... the pools are a scheduled heritage item and therefore consideration should be given to maintaining them on heritage grounds as well as because they fulfil a vital civic function.

.... the pools are the only inner city and near Eastside community aquatic facility available in Hamilton.

From Wikipedia: R overs Swimming Club, founded at the pools in 1945 by WWII veterans @http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rovers_Amateur_Swimming_Club That's the sort of historical association that supports and enhances the heritage significance of the pools . The Pools have been managed and operated by the Hamilton Amateur Swimming Club for over 30 years //See Press Release 2 July 2001// See @http://hamilton.co.nz/news/pageid/2145831902 for a 2001 council media release in which Councillor Macpherson is reported as saying the pools should remain open.

Hamilton Swimming Club Inc and Municipal Pools //The Hamilton Amateur Swimming Club is the oldest swimming club in New Zealand, having been founded in 1889 and registered in 1890. That same year 1890 the club hosted the New Zealand Swim Championships in Hamilton's Lake Rotoroa. The NZ Champs returned to Hamilton in 1990 to celebrate the of that original meet.// //The pool complex was opened in 1912 and is now the oldest surviving civic facility in Hamilton. It is also the oldest surviving in ground pool in New Zealand, and possibly the south pacific...//

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See also a mention to 'the Munies' from: Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand @http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/waikato-places/9 //"Victoria StreetHamilton’s main street, once called ‘the golden mile’. Victoria St stretches from Victoria Bridge to beyond the Fairfield Bridge, but the commercial section ends before Whitiora Bridge.// //At the Victoria Bridge end, the Waikato Brewery, built in 1930 to replace an earlier structure, once produced the local beer: Waikato Draught. It was run by the Innes family, whose firm constructed a soft-drink bottling plant across the road in the 1950s. Designed by modernist architect Henry Kulka, this factory is now the Meteor Theatre.// //Nearby is St Peter’s Anglican cathedral (1926), built over the Hamilton West Redoubt and backing onto the former Hamilton courthouse (1931). Other notable buildings include the Bank of New Zealand (1878), the post office (1901) and the Hamilton Hotel (1923), all now used for different purposes. The historic Municipal Pools, known to generations of Hamilton children as ‘the Munies’, opened in 1912."//

Hamilton City from Whitiora Bridge: Significant Highlights Full Annual Report 2001-2002 p. 27 //"MUNICIPAL POOL UPGRADE COMPLETE// //Upgrades to Hamilton’s Municipal Pool were completed in time for the new swimming season, with swimmers already taking advantage of this historical facility.// //A full engineering assessment of the Municipal Pool completed in June 2001 showed it was in need of workto enable it to remain operating.// //Essential work included re-piling and re-flooring the old grandstand, painting the pools, upgrading thefiltering system, and fitting new stainless steel handrails for the small pool.// //The refurbishment is expected to provide another five years’ use of the pool. The assessment was carried out as part of the development of a longer-term strategy for swimming in Hamilton.// //Hamilton’s Municipal Pool is considered the first public in-ground pool established in New Zealand that is still operational. The pool was built in 1912 and has a ‘Heritage B’ status.// //The facility is presently managed and operated by the Hamilton Amateur Swimming Club and caters for approximately 34,000 customers a year.// //The Municipal Pool is a community asset catering for schools and community groups// //in a way other swimming facilities cannot. As such, it is a vital element in Council’s aquatic facilities strategy."//

The RMA Planning Resource @http://www.qp.org.nz/plan-topics/historic-heritage.php

Heritage Management Guidelines @http://www.historic.org.nz/Publications/HeritageMgtGuidelines.aspx

Funding possibilities @http://www.communitymatters.govt.nz/Funding-and-grants---Lottery-grants---Lottery-Environment-and-Heritage---Accountability-requirements-and-guidance-notes

Heritage Matters @http://www.heritagematters.co.nz/back.html

Documents






Other Successful Heritage Pools
Blue Baths - Rotorua @http://www.historic-venues.co.nz/Museum/index.htm

Parnell Baths - Auckland Waterfront []

Tepid Baths - Auckland []