Our Pool

Why Build a Pool?

In 1992 Areyonga were the proud winners at the NT Tidy Town Awards. In early 1996 the community people held a meeting to talk about what they could do to further improve the health and living conditions for their isolated town.

A lengthy and expensive wish-list was drawn up.

Along with other infrastructure items - on the list was a swimming pool complex. The older people wanted the pool for their kids as Areyonga, being in the desert, is a very dry and hot most of the year. However when it rains, it can really pour down. The normally dry creeks are filled with water which then becomes swimming holes for the kids to play in. Unfortunately this water gets dirty and stagnant quickly and the kids have to share it with the local wildlife, especially lots of donkeys. Naturally the residents worry about the health of the kids swimming and playing in this dirty water.

How Important is a Pool?

Areyonga's infrastructure requirements were many and some more important than a swimming pool. For example -

• relocating a very noisy and smoking power station from the centre of the small town.
  
• Building a water borne sewerage system to get rid of the broken down septics that threatened the health and well-being of the community
  
• Increasing the communication by raising the number of telephone lines available to the township
  
• Fencing the airstrip to keep the feral animals off.

The community needed to find the money required to complete these projects but first had to decide which were the most necessary - Grants were accessed over the ensuing years from various sources. Each project was then co-ordinated and planned so that savings with labour and materials could be made by working on 2-3 projects at the same time. This way considerable amounts of money were saved.

Planning, Planning and more Planning!

Given the community's isolation factor - any large infrastructure projects are extrememly expensive. Constructing a pool complex would run into hundreds of thousands of dollars - The Council realised that this would take some years to achieve as money had to be found by the community. Pools were not considered a priority and are not funded by Government agencies. However the community was determined to improve their living environment therefore forward planning was essential. The following 3 years saw most of the wish list come to fruition and the pool became a reward for their considerable achievements - It was finished, using profits earned in completing the various major money-making projects.

Finishing the Job

With the research stage now completed the Council clerk now undertook the planning of the scope of works eg, engineering, construction, and landscaping of the complex.

The local Areyonga workforce were involved in much of the work building the pool. Earthworks, preparation of boxing and forming, trenching for plumbing, etc. The pool complex took 8 months but was completed within the community's time schedule. As completion of the complex drew near - the excitement of the people mounted and spread throughout the community. The young people came down to the pool site after school to help out. At 10pm on the night before the opening - finishing touches in the pool complex were drawing to an end with a group of women happily dot painting the concrete sewer inspection pit cover with bush tucker motifs.

The pool complex has been a great success.

 
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