West Daly Regional Council looks to surrender Wadeye Swimming Pool after vandalism and attack on staff

Ongoing problems in the management of the Wadeye Swimming Pool have seen the West Daly Regional Council offer the facility to the local catholic school - Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Thamarrurr Catholic College - to manage.

The facility, in the remote north west region of the Northern Territory, has been beset by a series of challenges including attacks on staff, vandalism and increasing costs.

As reported by the Council in October 2019, incidents of vandalism last year included damage to the pool office, plant room and chemical storage area; toilets being smashed; recently installed pool grates and new lawnmowers being thrown into the pool; and dirt around the pool being dug up and thrown in to the water.

With the pool now closed, the Thamarrurr Catholic College has been offered the school. Beyond this, the Council is considering filling it in.

As reported by the NT Independent, at the Council’s 26th August Councillors unanimously voted to offer the pool to the School in Wadeye, which had offered to take over the lease

Councillors also voted to write to the Northern Territory Department of Local Government, Housing and Community Development and community representatives saying if the school did not take the pool, council would fill it in and close it permanently without further notice.

School Principal John Young, who was on the agenda to give a report to the 23rd September meeting, said the School is discussing the “long term future management of the Wadeye swimming pool”.

If the School does not take over the lease, the Council will need to pay a “surrender sum” to the Northern Land Council.

This amount will have to equal the amount of rent left in the lease.

The pool has been the subject of several Council meetings and has been continuously vandalised, with pool staff being attacked by community residents late last year.

A council meeting agenda from October 2019 said community residents threw rocks at a staff member and smashed his car windows.

The pool was also closed multiple times last year due to vandalism.

Council meeting minutes from late last year noted “if the pool is not valued by the community, after significant council time and funds to repair the pool and return it to a safe level for swimming, then council should not continue spending any more of its limited funds on further repairs.”

In August this year, staff spent two and a half days cleaning the pool after dirt and broken bottles were thrown into it, the Council’s September 2020 agenda said. Tiles were also smashed and the pool liner was damaged.

It has been recommended council spend $300,000 building an aquatic play space at the facility and $140,000 to replace the fencing with a chain wire fence.