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Tobruk Memorial Baths
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Tobruk Memorial Baths
The Tobruk Memorial Baths is a heritage-listed complex of outdoor swimming pools on The Strand, Townsville CBD, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1941 to 1950 by Townsville City Council as a World War II memorial. The baths were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 13 January 1995.
The Tobruk Memorial Baths features a 50-metre (160 ft) Olympic-size swimming pool, a 25-metre (82 ft) heated pool used for children's swimming, lessons and physiotherapy and a toddlers pool. There is an on-site kiosk. The facade is a vibrant blue-and-white art deco design.
Tobruk Memorial Baths were commenced in 1941 and completed in 1950. An initiative of the Townsville City Council, the baths were intended initially simply as a civic amenity, to replace older city baths. In December 1941, however, the council decided to name the baths in honour of the Australian servicemen who had taken part in the Siege of Tobruk (Tubruq).
Tobruk Memorial Baths were erected on a site associated with sea bathing since at least the 1870s. The first European settlement at Townsville was concentrated in the area of Flinders Street East and The Strand, and The Strand and Cleveland Bay foreshore developed as one of the earliest recreation venues in Townsville. As early as 1866, Townsville's more affluent residents were constructing homes along the beachfront, and by 1872, three hotels had been erected opposite the present Anzac Memorial Park. The Strand was unformed at this time, being little more than a track along the foreshore, and there were no shade trees, but the beach was popular with bathers (mainly male) from at least the late 1870s.
In 1881 the town council planted 30 cedar trees along the foreshore, and added cocoa and betel nut trees in early 1882. In 1883, following strong public demand, a road was made along the beach front to Kissing Point. By 1889, The Strand, between King Street and Kissing Point, made a glorious promenade on a moonlight night when the breeze blows straight and cool from Magnetic Island, and a temporary reserve for public baths (R.182) adjacent to the present Anzac Memorial Park and opposite a quarry was gazetted in February that year. This reserve comprised an area of nearly 7 acres, extending from low water mark to a little above high water mark, on which the Townsville Municipal Council spent approximately £1,000 in erecting sea baths. Part of this reserve was occupied later by the Tobruk Memorial Baths.
The whole of the foreshore between King and Howitt Streets was gazetted a temporary reserve for public purposes in February 1901. A section of this, between the Cleveland and King Streets, was proclaimed a permanent reserve for park purposes in June 1912, and extended as far as the sea baths in 1926. From at least the 1920s, The Strand Park was a focus for Anzac Day activities. A memorial clocktower was erected in the park in 1923–1924, and in 1934 the name of the park was changed to Anzac Memorial Park. When the Tobruk Memorial Baths were constructed 1941–1950, their location along The Strand reflected not only the long association of the area with public swimming, but also with commemorative activity, iconography and place.
Work on the baths commenced in late 1941, as a city council initiative to provide Townsville with an Olympic standard pool. At the time there was considerable public opposition to the use of council finance for such an amenity during a war, and a petition was raised to the Queensland Government to have the project stopped. Cabinet found that the Townsville City Council had complied with the necessary formalities in relation to war-time building restrictions, the petition was rejected, and work went ahead until Townsville became an important base for the Allied offensive in the Pacific War in the first half of 1942.
In December 1941, at the height of the controversy, the Townsville City Council decided to name the baths as a memorial to the Australians who had fought and died during the Siege of Tobruk (Tubruq), in the Libyan desert campaign against Germany's "invincible" General Rommel. In one of the most famous sieges in Australian military history, Australia's 9th Division joined British forces in holding Tobruk against the German advance for 8 months. The Australian infantry, raiding and patrolling by day and night, dominated the no-man's land surrounding the Tobruk perimeter and took many prisoners.
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Tobruk Memorial Baths
The Tobruk Memorial Baths is a heritage-listed complex of outdoor swimming pools on The Strand, Townsville CBD, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1941 to 1950 by Townsville City Council as a World War II memorial. The baths were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 13 January 1995.
The Tobruk Memorial Baths features a 50-metre (160 ft) Olympic-size swimming pool, a 25-metre (82 ft) heated pool used for children's swimming, lessons and physiotherapy and a toddlers pool. There is an on-site kiosk. The facade is a vibrant blue-and-white art deco design.
Tobruk Memorial Baths were commenced in 1941 and completed in 1950. An initiative of the Townsville City Council, the baths were intended initially simply as a civic amenity, to replace older city baths. In December 1941, however, the council decided to name the baths in honour of the Australian servicemen who had taken part in the Siege of Tobruk (Tubruq).
Tobruk Memorial Baths were erected on a site associated with sea bathing since at least the 1870s. The first European settlement at Townsville was concentrated in the area of Flinders Street East and The Strand, and The Strand and Cleveland Bay foreshore developed as one of the earliest recreation venues in Townsville. As early as 1866, Townsville's more affluent residents were constructing homes along the beachfront, and by 1872, three hotels had been erected opposite the present Anzac Memorial Park. The Strand was unformed at this time, being little more than a track along the foreshore, and there were no shade trees, but the beach was popular with bathers (mainly male) from at least the late 1870s.
In 1881 the town council planted 30 cedar trees along the foreshore, and added cocoa and betel nut trees in early 1882. In 1883, following strong public demand, a road was made along the beach front to Kissing Point. By 1889, The Strand, between King Street and Kissing Point, made a glorious promenade on a moonlight night when the breeze blows straight and cool from Magnetic Island, and a temporary reserve for public baths (R.182) adjacent to the present Anzac Memorial Park and opposite a quarry was gazetted in February that year. This reserve comprised an area of nearly 7 acres, extending from low water mark to a little above high water mark, on which the Townsville Municipal Council spent approximately £1,000 in erecting sea baths. Part of this reserve was occupied later by the Tobruk Memorial Baths.
The whole of the foreshore between King and Howitt Streets was gazetted a temporary reserve for public purposes in February 1901. A section of this, between the Cleveland and King Streets, was proclaimed a permanent reserve for park purposes in June 1912, and extended as far as the sea baths in 1926. From at least the 1920s, The Strand Park was a focus for Anzac Day activities. A memorial clocktower was erected in the park in 1923–1924, and in 1934 the name of the park was changed to Anzac Memorial Park. When the Tobruk Memorial Baths were constructed 1941–1950, their location along The Strand reflected not only the long association of the area with public swimming, but also with commemorative activity, iconography and place.
Work on the baths commenced in late 1941, as a city council initiative to provide Townsville with an Olympic standard pool. At the time there was considerable public opposition to the use of council finance for such an amenity during a war, and a petition was raised to the Queensland Government to have the project stopped. Cabinet found that the Townsville City Council had complied with the necessary formalities in relation to war-time building restrictions, the petition was rejected, and work went ahead until Townsville became an important base for the Allied offensive in the Pacific War in the first half of 1942.
In December 1941, at the height of the controversy, the Townsville City Council decided to name the baths as a memorial to the Australians who had fought and died during the Siege of Tobruk (Tubruq), in the Libyan desert campaign against Germany's "invincible" General Rommel. In one of the most famous sieges in Australian military history, Australia's 9th Division joined British forces in holding Tobruk against the German advance for 8 months. The Australian infantry, raiding and patrolling by day and night, dominated the no-man's land surrounding the Tobruk perimeter and took many prisoners.
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