Hi, it’s Adrian Bo here. And last week I told you the story of how the Giles Hot Sea Baths and Swimming Pool was established on this site here in 1928, including the famous sweat box, the pool having been known as Lloyds Baths up until then. The “Bogey hole” as we now known it, was and is accessible via a set of stairs that had been carved into the sandstone headland, close to the Bali Memorial. The pool itself had a metal fence along the rock platform stopping people entering without going through the main building to pay, though in later years that fence became dilapidated and many locals would squeeze through gaps to have a free swim. Now Giles Baths survived until 1998 when it closed and then was demolished in 2000 in the interest of public safety. By then it had mainly become a gym with hot tubs and the nuditorium which was setup behind a tall wooden fence behind the baths, as a nudist sunbathing area. The modest entry fee to Giles Baths included, access to a locker and the nuditorium. Once the Giles Baths were demolished the nuditorium fence went with it revealing an old memorial sun-dial built many years before commemorating Sam Inglis, who passed away in 1940, being a regular at Giles Baths who was widely appreciated for coaching kids in boxing and swimming at the baths. In 1974 after a massive storm, the Giles Baths were condemned, though in 1975 a new lease was granted to 3 gentlemen by the names of O’Neill, Motta and Stevens.

The complex was renovated to include females to attend as well as adding squash courts. The business flourished but gradually, the baths fell into disrepair over the next 20 years until they were demolished though the portico which once formed the entrance to Giles Baths which still stands as you saw last week in my initial video. To understand the wear and tear that the rock pool gets, in 2017, a 30 tonne Sandstone rock was removed from the pool. Now that’s a similar weight to a humpback whale. This huge rock had been moved by a wild swell into the middle of the pool after a massive nor’easter. Moving the rock proved very problematic for RCC. And after considering blowing it up, it then opted to break it up using several excavators. This part of the headland was renamed Dolphins Point in 2003 by the then New South Wales Premier Bob Carr, to commemorate the members of the Coogee Dolphins, Rugby League team, who sadly passed in the Bali bombing. The Bali Memorial sculpture as you can see behind me, was built to commemorate the 88 Australians that tragically died in Bali, as well as the hundreds of people killed or injured. The sculpture was designed after a competition won by a Bronte resident, sculptor Sasha Reid, who built the chosen design in bronze which was called “Reclaiming Spirit” including 3 figures, each 4 metres tall, as you can see leaning on each other to display strength and unity.

Individually each of the 3 figures could topple, but leaning on each other, they form a strong structure of support. A terrific metaphor for our society today. The memorial was unveiled on the first anniversary of the bombing on October, 12, 2003. In 2005, a plaque was engraved and mounted onto the former Giles Baths entrance. This plaque has a photographic engraving of the 20 eastern suburbs victims of the bombing in Bali. In 2010, the New South Wales Place of Reflection, was unveiled by former Mayor Murray Matson and Kristina Keneally, including a plaque naming all 43 victims in Bali. In 2018, 88 doves were released at a ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the Bali bombings. These are very nice eulogies to what was an horrific event that we will never forget. Coogee has so many great things to celebrate, but we must always be thankful for what we have and remember the fallen. My self personally and my NG Farah business partners had personal connections with some of the victims, making this an even more sensitive and important landmark at Coogee. This area from it’s origins as Lloyds baths for local residents, to the creation of Giles Hot Sea Baths and Swimming Pool and it’s evolution as Dolphin Point, commemorating lost souls, makes it the heart and soul of this wonderful local community. Enjoy the area, you now know more of it’s history and always remember, your home is worth more with Adrian Bo.