In their halcyon days the Belmont Baths were a hive of activity and helped produce some of the region’s Olympians.
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Walk along the Belmont Foreshore now and there is limited water activity.
But a group of residents are determined to get the baths restored to their former glory.
Belmont & District Residents’ Action Group (B&DRAG) president Robin Gordon said they have been “bleating and begging” Lake Macquarie City Council to give the community back the Belmont Baths for several years.
On Sunday around 400 residents turned out for a public rally at the site of the former baths to show overwhelming support for the baths’ return. Now they want to see some action.
“We really want to demonstrate to the council the enthusiasm of the whole community of Belmont and surrounding suburbs … to show just how important these baths are and how much we miss them since they took them away,” Ms Gordon said.
“We’re particularly interested in the safety of our people for swimming because of the sharks.
“We believe there are sharks in the lake, and that’s the main reason we are now asking for the baths back. We want the baths for our people to be able to exercise, to have social activity and to reuse this lovely foreshore and swim in our clean lake.”
B&DRAG members remember the original baths as a hive of activity of families in and around the lake.
John Yates likened the original baths as “like Bondi Beach” with people and umbrellas littering the once sandy shores.
The original 1940s baths comprising two jetties and a connecting bridge were demolished in the 1980s and replaced by what Ms Gordon described as “pseudo baths”. There was one jetty and two ropes with polystyrene balls as a baths border but no netting.
The jetty was wiped out in the April storms last year.
“Council put up a sign saying, ‘Swim at your own risk, due to sharks’,” Ms Gordon said.
The baths are believed to be an item of discussion for the next council meeting in April and if given the go-ahead to plan new baths Ms Gordon said residents will be asking for “the best deal”.
“We’re hoping to have disabled facilities to get our wheelchair residents in for exercise,” Ms Gordon said.
“We have old and young groups who say they love swimming in the salt water, they don’t want to go to turnstiles and pay to get a swim for their children on a hot day.”
In its glory days, Ms Gordon said the Belmont Baths helped produce Olympians Beverly Bainbridge and Lyn Bell.
“We had Olympians train in that pool, who went to the Olympics from here … we had a good Belmont swimming club,” she said.