Coogee

Wylie’s Baths, Coogee Beach

Visitor info

Highlight: A not-for-profit community pool run by a volunteer board. Natural reef bottom, 1907, with a deck and cafe.
Entry: $6.50 adult, $4.80 senior, $3.20 concession. 10 entry passes $55 adult, $40 senior, $26 concession. Annual pass $390, family $500.
Open: 7am to 7pm October to April, 7am to 5pm April to September. Open 365 days a year.
Where: 4B Neptune St, Coogee NSW 2034 (south along the coastal path past McIver's).
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History

Perched on the cliffs south of Coogee Beach, Wylie's Baths was established in 1907 by champion long-distance and underwater swimmer Henry Alexander 'Harry' Wylie, who had previously run the Bronte Baths, and became one of the first mixed-gender bathing pools in Australia. While women were not usually allowed to swim with men in the early 1900s, this became a space where Australia's first female Olympians Fanny Durack and Harry's daughter Mina Wylie could train for the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm. Where they did Australia proud. The first time women were allowed to swim in an Olympic Games, Fanny brought home the gold in the 100-metre freestyle with Mina snatching the silver.

Water temperature by month

Much the same right along this stretch of the Sydney coast. Approximate — the water runs about a season behind the air.

Jan 22–23°C

Feb 23–24°C

Mar 23–24°C

Apr 22°C

May 20°C

Jun 19°C

Jul 18°C

Aug 18°C

Sep 18–19°C

Oct 19°C

Nov 20–21°C

Dec 21–22°C

Approximate. Sources disagree by a degree or two. The water lags the air by about a season, so autumn stays warm after the crowds leave and spring stays cold after summer seems to have started.