The Wynnum Wading Pool was a depression era project that was built in the suburb of Wynnum on the foreshore of Moreton Bay in Brisbane, Australia. It was opened to the public in 1933[1] and is still in use today. The shallow tidal pool is oval shaped and listed on the Queensland Heritage Register.[2]
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During the Great Depression, the Government of Queensland, established the Bureau of Industry to fund public works and provide unemployment relief. The State Government paid the wages of workers and the council provided the materials. Those in The Susso, as it was called, were assigned work based on their family circumstances. A man with a wife and one child would work a three-day week and receive 27/- a week. Many projects around Queensland are the result of this scheme. In the Wynnum-Manly area, including in this area, the wading pool,[1] sections of the retaining walls, and the Falcon Street Wall at Manly.
Prior to this period, swimming had taken place in the sea or in the swimming pools which were attached to the various public jetties. In 1922, Alderman J. Patterson presented a scheme that included the building of a bund wall at low water mark using dredgings from Wynnum Creek to reclaim land for use as recreational purposes, including a pool. The construction of the railway to Wynnum the area developed seaside tourist destination.[2]
Construction of the Wading Pool began in 1932 at a spot where there was a small indentation known as the saltpan. The parkland was reclaimed from the sea, a revetment wall was built and backfilled, and an area left empty to create the tidal pool. The wall runs a short distance along the foreshore and acts as a promenade.[2]
The pool is around 128 m by 54 m with automatic valves to maintain the maximum water depth from the tide at 75 cm. It has a sandy bottom, five shallow steps on three sides, a concrete ramp and a slippery slide.[2] Hundreds of people attended the official opening on the 21 January 1933 and witnessed the sailing event of 10 footers arranged for the occasion.
On 13 July 2008, the wading pool was re-opened by Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman after a A$6.5 million upgrade.[1]