Swakopmund, SWA (Namibia)

In 1971, the mayor of Swakopmund, then, H.M.G. Deetlefs, was instrumental in getting the Administration to finance the construction of the Olympic-size swimming pool.

Through the Treaty of Versailles 1920, South Africa was under obligation to "develop Swakopmund as a modern holiday resort".

In March 1982, the South Africa Amateur Swimming Union took a team of swimmers from South Africa, Germany, Canada and the USA to compete in this pool.

The old municipal indoor and heated Olympic-sized swimming pool in Swakopmund was closed for good in March 2010. It appears to have been demolished in 2014.

Swakopmund old indoor Olympic swimming pool, being demolished in 2014.

Local champion and Springbok swimmer Dorothea Neumeister.

SWA and Namibian coach Larry Larsen

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Grande Hotel, Beira

Before independence, the Mozambican city of Beira was a popular holiday destination for Rhodesians. The 300km section of road from the border town of Umtali to Beira passed through Manica, Gondola and Vila Peri (Chimoio), which all boasted iconic swimming pools, often with diving boards.

Today (2025), some of those facilities have survived, but some have been destroyed.

The Grande Hotel Beira is an abandoned luxury hotel in Beira, Mozambique. It was opened in 1954 and operated until 1974, when it was closed due to lack of guests.

Gondola, Mozambique

155km east of Beira lies the town of Gondola, which boasts the third-largest Olympic swimming pool in Mozambique.

The opening of the Gondola swimming pool was attended by the Rhodesian swimming and diving teams.

A recent (2023) photo of the Godola pool. It seems to have been renovated.

Manica, Mozambique

Built in 1962. The town pool is 270km's west of Beira, along the road to the Rhodesian(Zimbabwe) border at Umtali.

Cabinda, Angola

Grandly labelled as the Piscina Olímpica Provincial, this 50 metre swimming pool lies abandoned.

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Jennie Maakal album

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Jenny Maakal album

Stadium Pool

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Stadium Pool, Bloemfontein

The Bloemfontein Stadium pool, adjacent to the Free State rugby stadium, hosted the South African national swimming Championships in 1968 and 1974.

It was also used for the annual national inter-provincial Primary Schools swimming and diving Championships.

In 2025, it was also the venue for the National School Sports Championships (NSSC) Swimming Championship from April 4th to 8th.

The 50m heated pool was built in the 1960s to replace the older Arthur Nathan pool. It hosted international events during the Karen Muir era, the South African Primary Schools swimming championships during the 1970s.

In 2024, the Free State Aquatics Provincial Swimming Championship was held at the Stadium pool, and in April 2025, the National School Sports Championships Swimming Championship also took place there.

The 6th South African primary Schools swimming and Diving Championships were held at the Stadium Pool in Bloemfontein on 9 November 1974. Anton Katz and J. Marais of Western Prov-ince, Julain Taylor and Graham Hill of Natal each won two events in the boys section. In the girls Connie Fritsch of Natal, E Stegmann OFS, Nicky de Groot of Eastern Province, Irene Robinson GW and Karen van Helden of Western Province each won two events.

Eastern Province swimmers embarking on the overnight train journey to Bloemfontein for the annual SA Primary schools swimming championships - with Peter Horwitz, Hilton Rishworth and Kevin Richards in the back. Horwitz won the 50m butterfly un-der 10 in a new record time, while Richards finished second behind Natal's Julian Taylor in the under 10 50m backstroke. Ian Mileham of EP won the boys under 14 100m freestyle in a new rec-ord, and came second in the buttefly, while the EP boys team also won the 4x50m freestyle relay. The Eastern Province under 14 girls won three indidual titles plus the medley relay, finishing second in the freestyle relay.

Results of the 6th South African primary Schools swimming and Diving Championships were held at the Stadium Pool in Bloemfontein on 9 November 1974. Natal were the winners of the Dolfin trophy.

Western Province Primary Schools swimming and diving team - 1974

With Choppy Fiser, Lorraine Anderson, Susie Aronson, Jane Anderson, Marie van der Merwe,Gary Gluckman, David Gluckman, Monique Dokter,Sparky Whittle, Sandy Grey, Brenda Travers, Tony Livingstone, Peter van Niekerk, Anton Katz, Karen van Helden, Tom Fair, Rene du Toit, Alan Cape,Nikki Gee, Nicky Beyer, Chris Buchanan, Mark Hardcastle, Adrian Katz, Christopher Rightford,Gillian Aronson and Clara Aurik.

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Long Street

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Long Street Bath, Cape Town

The 33,3 yard Long Street swimming pool during the 1931 South African swimming and water polo championships.

The Long Street baths in Cape Town are typical of Victorian English architecture. Indoor swimming pools were a hallmark of the era, often built as part of larger bathhouses or health facilities. Before the Long Street pool was built, there was an indoor pool right on the beach in Camps Bay, and another in Claremont.

The Long Street Baths are a mix of Victorian, Edwardian and Art Nouveau architecture, and the lettering on signage reflects a long history of changing needs, times, rules and ideas. The 25-metre pool was built in 1908, and around 20 years later, the Turkish baths were added on. Here, people could come for a steam bath and a massage. This service has fallen away in recent years.

The hand-wringing that almost saw the baths being obliterated in the 70s came to a head when a resolution was made in 1985 to improve the facility. In 1990, the city council spent R2.2 million, adding a glass section on the east wall with an outside area for bathers to sit in the sun.

Over the years, swimmers in the city had to rely on this antiquated facility for winter training, as it was the only heated pool available. Clubs were allocated one lane each and had to share the space with the public.

For over a hundred years, the swimming pools at the top of Long Street have provided generations of Central City swimmers with a place to play, relax and perfect their stroke. In the early years, after the facility was built in 1908, the pools were also known as the “slipper baths” because at that time many of the blocks of flats in the area did not have bathrooms, so people would walk over to the baths in their slippers to have a shower. In 1926, the Turkish baths were added, allowing people to escape the drizzle of winter or the howling southeaster of summer for an authentic hammam experience that included a cold plunge pool, hot saunas and a massage.

Today, although the Turkish baths no longer enjoy the services of an in-house masseur, they still provide an oasis of peace in the busy centre of the city. Almost equidistant between mountain and sea, the baths are located at a crossroads at the top of the city’s main entertainment thoroughfare, within sight of museums, restaurants, bars, hotels, a church and a mosque. This cosmopolitanism is reflected in the users of the baths, which have always included a diverse cross-section of city residents.

This is still true today: the pool and saunas of the Turkish baths are frequented by locals, tourists, business people, pensioners and schoolchildren alike.

Coaching clinic hosted by Cecil Colwin. Swimmers include Christopher Hugo-Hamman, Derek Young, Heinie van Zyl, Gordon Haddow, Norman Brown and David Roberts.