Cronulla

Oak Park Pool (Cronulla)

Visitor info

Highlight: Sandy sloping entry, popular with families
Entry: Free
Open: Open at all times
Cleaning: Tidal pool, not drained and not on any cleaning roster. The ocean flushes it.
Where: Oak Park, Cronulla NSW 2230 (Ewos Parade)
Council page →

History

When council told residents that it wouldn’t pay for a bathing place here in 1909, locals decided they’d just build one themselves. Years later, council came around and a new Oak Park Pool was completed in 1931. With a sandy beach that slopes into the water, the spot is popular with families, and made international news in 2017 when a video of a local woman wrangling a shark in the pool went viral. Melissa Hatheier told the BBC the one-metre shark was “kind of like a toddler”, and she had no problem throwing it over the side of the pool where it quickly swam back out to sea.

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.