With the hot weather already here, now is the perfect time to visit the recently rebuilt Waves Fitness and Aquatic Centre in Baulkham Hills.
Like most places in the Hills and Hawkesbury, Waves has its own story to tell of generations of residents learning to swim and enjoying the coolness of the sparkling water on a hot summers day. Baulkham Hills War Memorial Pool or Waves as it is now known as first opened on the 11th March 1967 by the Minister for Local Government & Highways, The Hon P.H. Morton MLA and Shire President Bernie Mullane.
Prior to 1967 there was no public swimming in the Hills with the closest being Granville pool which was built in the 1930s and Parramatta pool which was built after WWII. Heather Watson, author of “Castle Hill Where have all the Orchards gone?” tells the story of swimming in the early days of Castle Hill before the pool where locals would swim in water holes and creeks particularly as there were no swimming pools in rural Castle Hill.
Residents would create weirs or dams across the Darling Mills Creek near the bottom of Church Street, Francis Street and Excelsior Avenue. In 1943 Council enlarged one small weir on Darling Mills Creek to create a ‘swimming hole’ known as Loch Bruce.
The Council promised if the enlarged ‘swimming hole’ was well utilised they would consider building a swimming pool for Castle Hill. As expected, the ‘swimming hole’ was very popular with locals and Council stuck to their word and built an Olympic sized swimming pool on the ‘Roxborough Park Estate’ half way between Baulkham Hills and Castle Hill.
In 2020, 53 years after the pool had opened, the decision was made to replace the ageing facility that had served the community so well with a brand new modern facility with more swim space to meet the needs of a growing population well into the future.
The new Waves Fitness and Aquatic Centre which opened in 2022, contains a FINA Olympic standard 10 lane, 50 metre outdoor pool, a 10 lane 25 metre outdoor pool and an indoor 25 metre pool plus an indoor family leisure and toddler pool area. There is also an outdoor water splash pad which will open on 23 September for the summer season.
For the fitness fanatics there is a large gym as well as spa, sauna and steam room. Waves also has a large café on site, function rooms and cabanas to enjoy a family catch up or a celebration.
Like many kids who grew up in the Hills, Waves was where we learnt to swim and where we spent our summers. I have many fond childhood memories of Waves and it is exciting to see the next generation of Hills residents creating their own fond memories in such a fantastic award winning facility.
For more information on Waves go to www.wavesfitnessandaquatic.com.au
