1974: The end of the Manly Harbour Pool

Manly's famous Harbour Pool had served the people of Sydney well since 1931, but in May 1974 it fell victim to the 'Sygna' Storm.

The bathing closure was located to the west of Manly Wharf and its walkway allowed a person to walk directly from the wharf to Marineland (Oceanworld). It even had a popular diving board and floating platforms for swimmers.

On the Weekend of May 25 and 26 1974, the harbour pool was battered by strong swells as the 'Sygna' Storm pummelled the NSW coast. The swells had surged through the heads causing chaos in harbourside suburbs.

The damage occurred during the evening of May 25 when the worst of the storm unleashed its fury. It was not until daylight that the magnitude of the damage became apparent. Page 1 of The Manly Daily on May 28 1974, summarises the carnage.

Much of the walkway had completely collapsed into Manly Cove and had washed up onto the beach. Whatever was left had buckled. Within weeks, the remnants had been demolished. Page 16 from the same edition of the paper published the famous photo of the buckled remains of the walkway.

  

 A netted swimming enclosure replaced the harbour pool which remains to this day.

There have been calls to rebuild the harbour pool such as in 1984 but was deemed to be "cost prohibitive". However in 2012, a group lodged their case for the rebuilding of the harbour pool, but with an eco-friendly twist that preserved the aquatic environment yet encouraged tourism.

NEVER BUILT SYDNEY: Manly Wharf Transport Interchange Terminal (1969)

Back in june, I shared with you a plan to redevelop Manly Wharf with a high rise hotel. Here is a proposal from 1969 that called for a major transport interchange at Manly Wharf to replace the existing facilities. Apart from wharves and a bus terminal, they wanted also wanted helipads and a railway station. It mentions that the railway station would serve a heavy rail line running north from Manly to Newport.

Source: Anonymous. 1969. "Manly's next front door? Crisis on North Shore, says MLA ," The Daily Telegraph, March 18: 9.

NEVER BUILT SYDNEY: Manly Wharf's highrise tower (1996)

It has been the dream of some to build highrise at Manly Wharf like this plan floated back in 1973 by Manly MP Douglas Darby.

Source: Owens, W. 1973. "Mr Darby builds a travel dream: Rocket trains to Manly," The Sun Herald, October 21:39. 

But moving two decades later, Manly Wharf Pty Ltd led by Robert Magid had a six storey hotel planned for the famous wharf with about 200 rooms. He also wanted to upgrade the retail complex, which had opened just six years earlier (2 level complex).

Source: Morris, L. 1996. "Opponents of wharf plan 'parochial'," The Sydney Morning Herald, June 17: 9. 

Source: Smith, F. 1996. "Wharf hotel lands Magid in hot water". The Australian Financial Review, June 19, 41.

Sue Sacker, Mayor of Manly Council did not support the concept opting for a two-level hotel. She felt there were too many rooms despite arguments from Magid that 200 rooms were needed to make it financially viable. In addition, she was concerned about the influence of developers in Manly. Yet council wanted to rejuvenate Manly particularly the Corso. I look at the scheme and six storeys isn't that high when you compare it with other high rises in Manly not to mention nearby buildings. The benefits were there for Manly including more hotel accommodation and that also helps tourism within greater Sydney. Federal Tourism Minister John Brown was right about the NIMBY sentiment expressed by locals given people wanted to visit the area and needed to "share".

By December, the hotel height was scaled back with the hotel to be two storeys except for a section of the site where six floors would remain.

Source: Skelsey, M. 1996. "Developer enlists sports stars to help sell proposal to residents: $40m hotel for Manly Wharf," The Daily Telegraph, December 14:17. 

Unfortunately for Mr Magid, Manly Council knocked back the development application. In 1996, they had passed a development control plan that regulated development around Manly Cove. State Legislation was put forward (and passed) the following year by Independent MP Dr Peter McDonald which was known as the Manly Cove Development Control Bill.

The only change that happened to the wharf was an upgrade of existing facilities and that it is now the single level we see. Aldi is an anchor tenant and retailers cater primarily to a commuter crowd. There are bars like the Manly Wharf Hotel and Bavarian Bier Cafe to cater to visitors and locals alike.

But I ask the "What if" question had this been approved by Manly Council. I think there would have been engineering challenges in building this project and the cost of building would have been a big challenge. The financial viability of the developer would have come into question and perhaps it was another fantasy scheme like the one from 1973.

For the time being, high rise above Manly Wharf will be nothing but a fantasy.

Updated November 10 2018 with rescan of article.