For 40 years, residents lobbied their local government for a pool to be established.

The people of Golden Square have had to fight for the facility to stay open numerous times in its lifetime.

The sounds of children playing in the pool on Saturday, as the adults marked the facility’s 100^th anniversary, showed the benefits the pool continued to provide members of the community.

The Golden Square Swimming Pool had a profound influence on the course of Pearl Heenan’s life.

It was there that the competitive diver learned her craft.

Pearl has been passionate about ensuring other children have the same opportunities to learn how to swim and dive, and was one of the many people in the pool’s history to campaign for it to remain in use.

She had the honour of cutting the cake marking the facility’s centenary during Saturday’s celebrations.

THIS time, roughly 100 years ago, trams in Golden Square were in chaos.

People were flooding into the area to celebrate the official opening of the community’s new baths – the result of about 40 years of lobbying.

A swimming carnival was arranged for the occasion, featuring spectacles such as the rescue of a 13-stone man.

A piano was wheeled onto the site to aid with the musical entertainment, which was performed by an orchestra.

The crowd was estimated at 2000 people.

Celebrations of the pool’s centenary, on Saturday, were nowhere near as grandiose.

A small group gathered to mark the milestone, including some of the pool’s most loyal supporters.

But Golden Square Pool president Bernadette Wright said the facility was still capable of attracting a crowd – more than 1000 people were there on Australia Day.

The pool has had about 64,000 patrons in the five years since it re-opened.

Ms Wright said more than 100 volunteers had given their time to the facility, which had employed 20 locals during the same period.

She described the pool as a place of belonging, of health, and of wellbeing for the community – a place where community groups gathered for activities like pre-season sports training and swimming lessons.

“We have grown in the way that we run it,” Ms Wright said. 

Alex Pianta was part of the pool committee for 25 years, most of which he served as secretary.

Sitting poolside on Saturday, he reflected on how much the facility had improved throughout its lifespan.

The lawn, wrought-iron fencing and shade sails weren’t there when he joined the committee all those years ago.

“We had a lot of help from council, even though they wanted to close it at times,” Mr Pianta said.

Current committee member Barbara Lomas said some of the reasons residents argued they needed a pool 100 years ago were still relevant, such as learning how to swim and getting exercise.

Some had changed, like access to bathing for reasons of hygiene.

“They were the first ones to introduce mixed bathing,” Ms Lomas said.

She said the pool cost the council of the day £400 to construct.