Many people have swum once and then many more times with Bold and Beautiful over the last 10 plus years. They are swimmers or triathletes, water polo players, surfers, locals. After doing that they become fond of swimming in open water. Lockdown has driven people who are not within coo-ee of Manly to find different places to swim. (Maybe they would go back to chlorine if the pools were open but maybe not).
It is all the same water as when the dinosaurs were on the planet so just enjoy swimming
Here is Allan Bicknell and another swimmer at Brooklyn Baths. A netted pool of 50 m which is on the Hawkesbury River. With all the swims that people have found, high tide seems to be the best time because it is a bit cleaner
Jocelyn and a crew of joyful swimmers were featured in her lovely blog on Wednesday. It made me happy just to see the sun, water and swimmers (two by two) enjoying the place
Inez has found a variety of places but there are photos hereof Chiswick which is netted and Bedlam Beach on the Parramatta River at Gladesville, behind former Gladesville Hospital which used to be managed by the Inspector General for the Insane for NSW - ah the olden days. High tide again is the recommended time for a swim. Inez has of course researched the distribution of bull sharks in the area and takes the information into account when picking a location.
Former factory at Chiswick
| Lysaght Bros & Co., later BHP | Wire mill and wire netting factory. | 1884—1998 |
The dynamic Alison Blazey from near Lane Cove has found Northbridge Baths
Alison has also been part of a local action group asking Lane Cove Council to open Greenwich Baths. Other outdoor pools - including Dawn Fraser pools at Balmain - can open but Lane Cove Council was paying rangers to shoo people away (they may have been asked to shoot people and thought it a typo; who knows). she has had success! While the Council was hoping for lockdown to end so that they did not have to do anything but that did not pan out. Photos coming from 18 September when it opens. But here is a stock photo. It is on the Lane Cove River, that well known water way where lots of industry used to be located including
| Patent Asphaltum Company of NSW | Refinery for bitumen, imported from Trinidad. | 1884—1908 | Greenwich Timber Co. (see below). |
| Greenwich Timber Co. | Timber yard. | 1908—1911 | Land sold to John Fell & Co. in 1911 (see below). |
| John Fell & Co | Oil refinery. | 1911—1927 | Bought in 1927 by Shell, owners of the adjoining land. |
| Shell | Crude and refined oil terminal. | 1901—now | Now operated by Shell distributor Viva Energy |
I have heard that some people are swimming at Davidson Park near Roseville Chase. This sparked talk of a shark attack there. I found out that happened in 1963. It is a small area.
There are also Woolwich Baths. Also on the Parramatta River. All the heavy metal residue and other remaining contamination from the shipyards and factories that used to be located along the shore of Sydney Harbour /Parramatta River
| Mort’s Woolwich Dock | Dry-dock | 1901—1958 | Army water transport, from 1963 until 1997, now public space with remnants. |
| Sydney Smelting Co. | Tin smelter and wharf. | 1892—1967 | Kellys Bush Park, tin smelting operation was relocated to Alexandria |
For more industrial information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_foreshore_industrial_sites_on_Sydney_Harbour.
DID YOU KNOW - Union Carbide (now owned by Dow Chemical) produced Agent Orange at Homebush in Sydney, leaving a terrible legacy
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