Postcard from the collection of the Inverloch Historical Society
By Eulalie Brewster
ONE hundred years ago, the townsfolk of Inverloch decided to build themselves a bathing enclosure for safer swimming in case of sharks in Anderson’s Inlet.
They held several working bees. Working at low tide, they made blocks of concrete. Then they set timber piles in the blocks with angled stay poles at the outer corners of the enclosure. During other low tides, they bolted two parallel rows of flat pieces of timber to the inner and outer sides of the piles, one at the top and one lower down. Finally they inserted upright lengths of milled timber between the two horizontal rows.
Thus the townsfolk had a safe bathing place.
| Each year, after the summer season was over, they removed the upright timbers and replaced them with fresh palings each spring. At the same time, they used a horse and scoop to clear the buildup of sand that occurred each winter. Over the years, enthusiasm waned, and eventually volunteers could no longer be found to carry out these tasks. Nevertheless, the bathing enclosure continued to be used in its shallower state. A schoolteacher from the early 1920s used to take the children there for swimming and lifesaving lessons. By the 1930s only the south-eastern corner had enough water to get wet, and then only at high tide. There was no longer any swimming but at least one religious group used that corner for baptismal services. | Bathing regulations Bathing in the sea has been one of the great joys of living in Bass Coast since settlers first arrived. As the big cities grew more polluted, medical practitioners promoted the benefits of sea bathing to restore the mind and body, but the law-makers ensured there were plenty of regulations to keep the populace in check. In many places it was illegal to bathe on Sundays and there were bylaws governing the length and cut of bathing attire. It was not until 1912 that mixed bathing became legal in Victoria. |
By degrees, all the wood except two of the large poles rotted away. Sometimes the remaining stumps of these piles can still be seen, one each side of the steps that lead from the car park beside the bowling club down to the beach. These piles were on the outer wall, and the actual bathing enclosure was where the car park is now.
When the bathing enclosure was built, there were also changing sheds alongside the track to the pier (The Esplanade). However, as the sand built up in the bathing enclosure, it also built up around the changing sheds.
This was not Inverloch’s only bathing enclosure. There was a second one on the foreshore by Ayr Creek at the western end of Inverloch. This one was built by the owners of the substantial holiday homes at that end of town, prosperous inland farmers or business people from Wonthaggi.
Here again, they set piles in concrete blocks along the sides and outer edge of the enclosure, but then they fastened single timbers to the outer sides of the piles at a high and lower level. Instead of palings, they fastened wire netting to these timbers to make a safe bathing place. The advantage was that there was no need for the annual scooping out of the sand as it washed in and out of the wire.
In those days, sharks must have been more common in the inlet. There were shark fishing contests – although there are no recorded shark attacks.
One of our senior citizens, now in her eighties, remembers one occasion when she was swimming in these western baths and how everyone seemed to be on the beach making a noise. She swam leisurely along, just inside the wire until she saw a shark pushing its nose against the wire. She promptly joined the crowd on the beach.
The wire netting did not last many years. It rusted away and this area became known as “The Poles”. Gradually the poles also disappeared, the last of them two years ago.
This essay was first published in The Current community newspaper in 2005.
When the bathing enclosure was built, there were also changing sheds alongside the track to the pier (The Esplanade). However, as the sand built up in the bathing enclosure, it also built up around the changing sheds.
This was not Inverloch’s only bathing enclosure. There was a second one on the foreshore by Ayr Creek at the western end of Inverloch. This one was built by the owners of the substantial holiday homes at that end of town, prosperous inland farmers or business people from Wonthaggi.
Here again, they set piles in concrete blocks along the sides and outer edge of the enclosure, but then they fastened single timbers to the outer sides of the piles at a high and lower level. Instead of palings, they fastened wire netting to these timbers to make a safe bathing place. The advantage was that there was no need for the annual scooping out of the sand as it washed in and out of the wire.
In those days, sharks must have been more common in the inlet. There were shark fishing contests – although there are no recorded shark attacks.
One of our senior citizens, now in her eighties, remembers one occasion when she was swimming in these western baths and how everyone seemed to be on the beach making a noise. She swam leisurely along, just inside the wire until she saw a shark pushing its nose against the wire. She promptly joined the crowd on the beach.
The wire netting did not last many years. It rusted away and this area became known as “The Poles”. Gradually the poles also disappeared, the last of them two years ago.
This essay was first published in The Current community newspaper in 2005.
Western Beach, 1924. Donated by Mrs Ida Le Maitre. Collection of Inverloch Historical Society