Rajah, Icebergs, and the Bondi Baths

Bondi Baths above Bondi Beach in Sydney. Photo by David Lansing.

Back in the 1920s, municipal salt-water pools along the ocean were all the rage in Southern California. The Plunge, in Mission Beach, near San Diego, was, when it opened in 1925, the largest salt-water pool in the world holding 400,000 gallons of water. There were also salt-water pools in Santa Cruz and Los Angeles, but by World War II, they were pretty much a thing of the past.

Which is a shame because the only thing better than swimming in the ocean is swimming in an ocean-side salt-water pool where you get the sounds of the ocean and breaking surf and the smell of salt air without nasty things like rip tides and killer waves.

Around Sydney they are any number of salt-water pools, the most famous of which is Bondi Baths, an eight-lane, 50-meter pool built into the cliffs at the southern end of Bondi Beach. I was down there yesterday and I must say it’s quite spectacular. It sits just above a rocky outcropping in the ocean, just yards away from the surfer’s section of the beach, and is refreshed by crashing waves that spill over the sides of the pool at high tide.

Anyone can swim in the pool for a small fee, but most of those you see going up and down the swim lanes are members of the Bondi Icebergs Club, which was founded in 1929 by a small group of friends. To become an Icebergs member you must swim three of every four Sundays for five years during the Australian winter (May to September). As a NY Times story reported, “It is a true test of dedication, for while outsiders might think that Australia is the land of endless summer, in winter the ocean water is teeth-chattering cold. And on opening day of the winter swimming season, it is tradition that lumps of ice are tossed into the pool to test the hardiness of the competitors.”

Perhaps the most famous Iceberg was Harold Miller, known as “Rajah” because he used to walk around the club with a towel wrapped around his head, turban style. As the history of the Icebergs notes, “Rajah was elected President in 1936 and dominated the club for the next 32 years. Under his drive the club grew from a group on the “Rocks” to a club which eventually became world renowned and today celebrates 81 years of existence. Those fortunate enough to have known him during those years valued his friendship and memory, whilst those members who came after should be forever grateful to the man who gave them the Club as we know it today, a man known to many as Mr. Iceberg.”

Cheers to Rajah, the Icebergs, and the Bondi Baths—a lovely Sydney institution.