After three summers closed the Paekākāriki School pool has reopened. Jude Walcott looks at its rich history.
The day was warm and sunny, the school pool crystal clear and inviting as a group of children, parents, teachers and invited guests gathered recently for the official reopening of the Paekākāriki school pool.
Principal Julia Bevin spoke about the significance the pool has for the school community.
“Our school pool is a valued asset, but unfortunately, we have been unable to use it for the last three summers due to ongoing repair and maintenance concerns. Increasing Health and Safety requirements and the need for specific training in pool operations have added additional challenges over recent years.
“Whilst the pool was out of operation, we had to transport the children to the Aquatic centre in Paraparaumu, this was a costly and timely exercise which meant only a small group of children were able to access these lessons. We are excited to be able to offer KCDC swimming lessons on site, during the school day this year.
“This takes a lot of stress off families getting children to swimming lessons after school or on weekends. It also means that our classroom programmes can continue to operate without being impacted by large chunks of time going off site.
“Schools do not receive additional government funding to operate pools, which means that the Board of Trustees and communities need to work to find the money to cover ongoing maintenance costs, running costs such as chemicals, water testing and cleaning.”
The 15m long, 4m wide (and approximately 1m deep) pool is open during Term 1 for KCDC swimming lessons and for school use. The average daily pool temperature over the past couple of months has been 28-34 degrees Celsius – very warm compared to the ‘old days’ of swimming pool lessons – and the children are loving it!
In Michael O’Leary’s book ‘Paekākāriki Our School’ (well worth a read), he writes that in the early 2000s, “funds were raised to purchase a pool cover which helped heat the water … to make swimming a slightly more pleasant experience than it was.”
He also writes about the early history of the school, the building of the new school, some of the teachers and principals.
“In the days at the old school there was no swimming pool and all the pupils would be marched to the beach, where, with a great many instructions and warnings beforehand they would have their swimming lessons. After the move to the present school, plans were made for the building of a swimming pool. The headmaster, Mr Frank Emmett, enlisted the aid of his senior class to measure and dig out the pool site. He did not share his pupils’ amusement when his plans were temporarily thwarted by one enthusiastic helper who dropped his spade and cut the tape measure in half.”
Photo from 1961 (credit: Paekākāriki Our School Book) – what a slice of life from the early 60s!
A date of the completion of the pool and its opening was not mentioned but Mr Emmett was the headmaster between 1938 and 1953 – maybe it was finished before he left, but maybe not. Maybe someone in the community knows?
Jane Cherry, a pupil at the school in the 1970s has some fond memories of having a pool next to the classrooms:
I learned to swim in the school pool, and I still love swimming. We swam a lot in the summer, and I felt confident in the water. There was no pool cover to keep the water warm. Back in the seventies, I thought it was normal to get so cold my teeth ached and clacked like one of the old rattler trains that serviced the commuter line.
We had boat day in the pool. I’m pretty sure it was a competition for the best boat—I don’t remember actually racing them. I do remember my boat, just hunks of painted wood, tilting drunkenly and being laughed at.
Paekākāriki school pool 1970 – Credit Paekākāriki School Book
Repairs and upgrades to the pool and the pool plant systems have been happening over the past six months with training is underway for a couple of extra helpers as water quality testers. This is part of the health and safety requirements and will cover the monitoring and testing of the water during school terms.
We are very fortunate in Paekākāriki as many schools in New Zealand no longer have their own swimming pool. From an article in Stuff in 2023: About half of New Zealand’s school students no longer have the opportunity to swim at school as the Ministry of Education won’t fund the construction of new pools, the existing stock of school pools is ageing and funding for their upkeep is limited.
After much hard work and fundraising the pool is up and running again, many thanks to the Paekākāriki School BOT (Board of Trustees) and PTA (Parent Teacher Association) for the commitment to keep the school pool viable under difficult financial constraints – much appreciation and thanks to the many fundraising efforts to keep the pool afloat.
Photo credit: Julia Bevin