The former Bendigo Municipal Baths next to Faith Leech Aquatic Centre in Barnard Street has been transformed into a fantastic new recreation area that is now open for the public to enjoy.
City of Greater Bendigo Mayor Cr Andrea Metcalf said after being fenced off to the public for many years, the City has completed a major $3M project to re-open this once hidden area to provide an attractive urban park complete with a lakeside loop track and boardwalk for community use.
“The City is very proud to have funded this important project which we think will become a much loved and popular spot in the heart of Bendigo’s Rosalind Park precinct,” said Cr Metcalf.
The project has included:
- Major works to stabilise the dam wall
- Removal of perimeter fencing
- Removal of the island
- Sludge removal and water quality improvements
- Installation of fish habitat logs for freshwater mussels and small native fish
- Installation of irrigated lawn areas, park seating, pedestrian lighting and signage
- Planting of shade trees, native aquatic plantings and landscaping
- Construction of a loop walking path and installation of a board walk on the eastern side of the water body
- Interpretive signage, landscaping and vegetation by Djandak
The original Municipal Baths were officially opened over 110 years ago in 1913 on the site of an existing dam. The baths were Bendigo’s primary location for swimming and bathing until the opening of the adjacent Bendigo Olympic Swimming Pool (now Faith Leech Aquatic Centre) in 1958.
Originally more than twice its current size, the baths facility once featured a grandstand, change rooms, diving platforms, jetties, training areas, sunbathing decks and a water polo area. There was also a shallow paddling paddock that was reserved for children up to nine years old.
At the official opening large crowds filled the pavilion and grounds to watch exhibitions by the Royal Life Saving Society and swimming races by members of the Bendigo Swimming Club. Bunting adorned the buildings and a local brass band performed on the day. The baths quickly became one of the most popular swimming places in Bendigo.
The development of the adjacent Bendigo Olympic Pool in the 1950s signalled the closure of the Municipal Baths and over time, the old infrastructure was removed, and the site was fenced off to the public in the 1980s.
In 2014 the City of Greater Bendigo developed a Masterplan for Rosalind Park which recommended opening up and restoration of the site for community use as a key action of the plan.