Suzanne Donisthorpe, Castlemaine

Picture this. Adjacent to the brand new revitalised city centre up Frederick Street and Mechanics Lane, opposite the Town Hall and around the corner from the Library and the Phee Theatre sits a beautifully restored and treasured heritage building, housing the People’s Pool and Wellness Centre.
The beautiful old drill hall has been properly resurrected and the weatherboards have been repaired and painted in soft greys and greens – reflecting the colours of the bush. The south facing windows have been cleaned and repaired and the clearstory windows on the eastern side are a pale gold so the morning light fills the space with golden light and on the western wall, the windows have been tinted pink so that the setting sun sends a rosy glow into the interior. There are folding glass doors along the back northern wall- facing straight out to the newly created town hub facing the library where there is a pop up coffee and juice bar which can be opened up on sunny days to bring the warmth and fresh air inside.
Inside, a false ceiling over the pool has been installed, and the walls have been lined and insulated creating a far more practical space to heat. The interior is freshly painted a soft white, and it is filled with air filtering pot plants with simple wooden benches around the edges. Solar panels, a battery and a heat pump have been installed, thus substantially cutting the costs of heating the pool and it is cleaned with magnesium salt which is environmentally far better and is more like a mineral spring bath than a traditional chlorine pool.
Imagine how beautiful a magnesium pool would be for hydrotherapy sessions, for the babies and small children’s swimming lessons, for the elderly and disabled, for water aerobics and yoga classes. Plus there’s already a spa and sauna and a small pool which could be a cold water plunge pool. There is also a gym which I personally would move as there’s a number of gyms already and that space could be used for other things- but this is just my dream plan.
In this town of inspired art events – what about after hours sound healing sessions- whereby people float with the aid of pool noodles while a mesmeric light show plays on the ceiling and the pool is filled with beautiful music. There could also be special nights for all nude swimming, women only swim sessions, men’s only swim sessions, children’s parties and synchronized swimming performances. The list is endless.
Additionally the spaces around the pool could be rented out to physios, yoga teachers, massage therapists, acupuncturists- all sorts of allied health professionals.
OK its a dream- but I think it’s possible.
Here’s my draft plan
Buying it
It is about to be sold by the mortgagee who will just want their money back so it could be as little as $1 million. It’s a heritage building so it can’t be torn down, but really who else would want it apart from us? So we are in a good place to bargain. As it’s a heritage building – the National Trust and other heritage organisations could be approached for money for the repairs. If it is used as a community resource- the chances of heritage funding is much higher. If we don’t buy it – it will become a sad decrepit eyesore in the middle of our town that no one wants.
The renovation
Yes, it would cost more money to bring it up to scratch – say $4 million more – I’m guessing but given it’s a wooden building that already has a pool, plus a sauna, spa and gym that was functioning less than 12 months ago – it can’t be that much. So far less than any other alternative for a 365 day a year heated indoor pool which could cost up to $40 million.
So how do we do it?
We start a GoFundMe campaign along the lines of the Hub buy back – and raise as much as possible – thus demonstrating to governments – local, state and federal, the community interest is there, and they should really pitch in. We would target the health department, the NDIS scheme, the Swim Australia mob, and the various philanthropy organisations that offer funding for community benefits- something we can easily demonstrate.
Who runs it?
We lease it out to a manager to administer answerable to a board of management. We offer a range of prices – special prices for locals and more for visitors – like the MONA model. The various businesses help offset the costs of the upkeep and we also get some government funding- as most community pools already do. We would need a proper business plan – but that is not really my forte – but given there are 900 people who signed a petition, and at least 30 or more very capable people involved in SWIMMA – I think it’s doable.
As the building could be up for sale at any moment – I feel the need to act promptly is crucial.