One of Brisbane’s largest aquatic centres, Centenary Aquatic Centre and Health Club — better known as Centenary Pool — is home to a 50-metre outdoor swimming pool, a heated indoor pool and a 25-metre heated outdoor pool. As its full name indicates, there is also an on-site health club so you can get your sweat on before going for a dip, and this may be your last chance to do so for a while.
The aquatic complex is set to become a venue for the 2032 Olympic games and, to that end, it will undergo renovations very soon! While we have no doubt the refurbished complex will be state-of-the-art, the current Centenary Pool is heritage-listed, and deserves a visit before closing.
History
Designed by architect James Birrell and built in 1959 to commemorate Brisbane’s local government centennial, the Pool was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 1996. It was declared so thanks to its historical and aesthetic signifcance, the sophistication of its design and use of era-specific materials, and its importance as one of James Birrell’s major works.
The inital design included an upscale restaurant, which has since been replaced by a gym and medical suites, and a landscaped entrance road. Centenary Pool was Brisbane’s first Olympic-grade pool and remained the city’s main aquatic sports centre until 1980, when the Sleeman Sports Complex was built in Chandler.
What to expect
As mentioned, The Centenary Pool Complex is receiving an upgrade in the lead up to the 2032 Games. These upgrades include three new pools — two of them indoors and one outdoor — which will be used for various aquatic sports, an indoor dive tower, an outdoor tower for diving and high diving, as well as permanent seating for 8,800 attendees, and over 25,000 during the games.
The new design, dubbed The National Aquatics Centre, will incorporate the heritage-listed elements of the original complex.
Most importantly, this means Centenary Pool will remain closed from Monday, August 31, so we urge you to get your laps in before then!
