From sharks to motorbikes, some surprises turn up in Wollongong's beloved rock pools. Here, council's pool cleaning crews share what it's like taking care of some of the coastline's most beloved assets ...
Grant Armour, Leading Hand
This is your office five days a week. There are eight pools from Towradgi all the way to Coalcliff. There's a roster but it's tidal. The tides have to be right and really you'll get two weeks out of the month with conditions that'll allow you to clean.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
You have heaps of environmental factors to think about. You have swell, wind, currents, you have a three-hour window to get the work done. Today, low tide is at 4pm so this pool needs to be drained by 4pm. Then we have three hours to clean it before the next tide comes in. We started today at 6.30am and we've cleaned all the steps, ramps and the concourse.
We waterblast all the walls and the floors, get the algae off, and get the backhoe in when there is no water left in the pool. He removes the sand and tips it over the edge. There is a timing thing to consider and we all have to be on our jobs. This is a good pool to clean, there's not too much seaweed. Wombarra and Coledale can be pretty bad for seaweed.
I don't think anywhere else has eight, Sydney has three, I think, and we have so many in Wollongong. Shellharbour has one.
Hardest part of the job? The walls - the algae and cleaning the oysters away. Once you hit them off, they're away. But it's hard because once you've cleaned them off the next time you come back they might be somewhere else. Also the algae on the ramps and the stair.
Strangest discovery? There was a time we found a stingray in Towradgi pool and another time when we had a spotted wobbegong shark in Bellambi rock pool.
Nicest thing anyone has said to you when you're cleaning the pools? Thanks for doing it, or good job. Kids like to know what's in there and here they sit on the grass.
Favourite pool? I like Towradgi. It always seems to have nice water and it always seems to have people swimming in it. It's very popular.
Bobby Risteski
I'm the floater in the north depot civil works crew but predominately I'm with the pool crew because they always need an operator for the heavy machinery.
I wanted to work with council being a secure job, and working for my local council was appealing for me. I'm from Berkeley originally. It's a great position and a great view - whales at Coalcliff and when you're going over the Sea Cliff Bridge, dolphins, seals, and (there's) even octopus in the pool. We always try to help them out and get them back into the ocean. It's just lovely to see.
Plus, seeing how beautiful the pools are after they've been cleaned and everyone enjoying it. I've got a young son and one day I'd like him to enjoy the pools as well. The next morning when it's full and the sun is shining like this, it's a beautiful thing.
Hardest part? The disappointment on people's faces when they come for a swim and the pool is closed. It's working with the tides and weather conditions. Sometimes there's no sand on the beaches, other times there is excess sand. Last time we needed a 20 tonne excavator, there was just that much sand.
Strangest discovery? About a year ago we pushed a motorbike out of Woonona pool.
What do you clean from the pool? Seaweed. Sand is good because it's dense and it's easy to pick up. Seaweed floats among the water and it's just hard. I would say from Austinmer onwards they get a lot more weed, Wombarra has been pretty bad and Coledale. But once we get the water out it becomes a dense mass. My main thing is getting the sand and the heavy stuff off the floor so the guys can go in and do their job.
Why do you think people love these pools so much? I think the historical side, they've been here a long time and if my grandfather swam in them then it would be a nice thing to swim in them also. We live on a beautiful coastline - the fact you can be right next to the ocean but in a safe pool without the waves and the rest of it, that's appealing. Plus, it's easy for the kids.
Favourite pool? Probably Wombarra. It's wide open, it's right out on the rock shelf and it's just a nice spot there tucked away.
Anthony Linde
I'm usually in the works concreting crew. They're two different kinds of jobs and, for me, this is better. It's on the beach and you're not shovelling dirt. It's a very good office. It's satisfying work - especially when you're using the water blaster you can see what you've done.
Hardest thing to clean? The baby pools get pretty messy and dirty. The oysters you have to be careful around and we have to scrape and chop them off.
Favourite pool? Probably Coalcliff. It's away from everywhere, it's in a pretty little spot near the Sea Cliff Bridge.
Tony Uremovic
I always saw the blokes in the trucks and I thought it was a good place to work. I worked in the steelworks for about 20 years... it was time for a change. I love Wollongong. I love the view and the feeling. It's satisfying when you finish and you see a clean pool, that's unreal, and the people are happy. That's satisfaction on its own.
It's physical. There's a lot of shoulder work and sometimes the walls are high. The walls at Bulli are one-and-a-half times me so you've got to be reaching up.
I'm a softie and I always try and save fish. I'll get a bucket and get the snails and a net to get the fish.
I didn't have a clue about pools when I came then I started learning about tides and how much work is involved. People don't see it all. We've turned up sometimes and had to stop because the waves are crashing over the top, the swell is too crazy.
Some people have no rock pools, we've got nine. They're all unique, they've all got their special things. Each one is different and beautiful. We've got tins of biscuits off ladies at Christmas and it's the nice things they say to our bosses, and just "thank you".
Favourite pool? Coalcliff. You're low so you can see the sea but you've got the cliffs and the mountains behind. That's why Wollongong is so great. You've got ocean, you've got cliffs. What more could you want?
Information supplied by Wollongong City Council.