Clarence Regional Aquatic Centre gets official opening

A highly anticipated occasion for the Clarence Valley community - who have waited more than two years to access their new facility - the $29.1 million Clarence Regional Aquatic Centre has been officially opened.

Clarence Valley Council Mayor Ray Smith was joined by fellow councillors and council staff, Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan, State Member for Clarence Richie Williamson, members of the Grafton Scout Group, and other visiting dignitaries and community members as he cut the ribbon and officially opened the facility on 22nd March.

The site of the former Grafton Olympic Pool was initially closed in September 2022 due to major safety concerns after council staff found significant subsidence had occurred between the diving pool and the 50m pool, resulting in substantial issues surrounding the structural adequacy of the facility, which was more than 60 years old.

A little over 12 months later and following passionate community campaigning and petitions to reopen the premises, the Council agreed to redevelop the site in September, 2023.

While ongoing wet weather during the final months of construction in 2024 initially delayed the scheduled completion and subsequent opening of the facility, the 50m Grafton Olympic Pool was opened to the public on 15th February

During the official proceedings, Mayor Hogan touched on the emotional history associated with the initial opening of the pool in the 1950s and its construction following the tragic drowning of 13 Boy Scouts and Wolf Clubs in the Clarence River on 11th December 1943, when the flat-bottomed punt they were travelling in capsized as they returned from a picnic on Susan Island.

The indoor pool at the Clarence Regional Aquatic Centre was named the Grafton Cub Scout Memorial.

The Council recently received a $1.6 million grant from the Federal Government through the Department of Infrastructure’s Growing Regions Program to enable them to deliver two waterslides at the Clarence Regional Aquatic Centre by the end of 2025.

Image: Clarence Regional Aquatic Centre. Credit: Clarence Valley Council.