Club history · Since 1964
Generations in the water.
A Club for life.
From the old War Memorial Pool to Epping and home again. For more than 60 years, Parramatta Memorial Swimming Club has brought families together through racing, water safety and friendships that last.
1959: a pool for Parramatta
On 24 October 1959, around 5,000 people gathered for the opening of Parramatta’s War Memorial Swimming Centre. Years of community fundraising and Council planning had created a place to swim—and a living memorial to those who died in the Second World War.
The O’Connell Street pool became PMSC’s home when the Club formed in 1964.
Watch Council’s film of the 1959 opening
Read the opening report in The Cumberland Argus
1964: the Club takes shape
On 29 September 1964, 17 people met at the Parramatta Police and Citizens Boys Club to form an amateur swimming club at the War Memorial Pool.
From 1964, Saturday racing became a family routine, with volunteers laying lane ropes and timing swims with mechanical stopwatches. Club life member Peter Hession also recalls water polo, diving and synchronised swimming among the early Club activities.
In the early years, families raised funds through raffles, swimathons and lamington drives.
“This is where every family got involved.”Peter Hession, Club life member, recalling the Club’s fundraising
1964: free learn-to-swim begins
In 1964, volunteers began offering free learn-to-swim classes after Saturday races. Peter recalls helpers as young as ten and demand so strong that enrolments sometimes had to close when classes reached capacity. Young swimmers were learning to help the next generation. The lessons continued until the old pool closed in 2017.
1960s–early 1970s: friendships beyond the pool
Presentations at Parramatta Town Hall meant suits and elegant gowns. Peter also remembers walking together to the Roxy cinema. Christmas family relays became a lasting tradition.
1970s: learning to save lives
Kevin Hession established a lifesaving program in association with the Royal Life Saving Society of Australia.
Late 1980s: the end of the unheated years
Peter remembers the pool remaining unheated until the late 1980s, making October mornings a test of resolve: “Nevertheless, we all swam regardless.”
2009: recognition for decades of teaching
Council recognised Kevin Hession’s involvement in learn-to-swim over more than 40 years.
2017: farewell to the old pool
The War Memorial Swimming Centre closed on 31 March 2017 to make way for the new stadium. For PMSC, it meant leaving the pool that had been home since the Club began.
Members gathered beneath the Club banner for a final evening together.
2017–2023: the Epping years
The Club moved to Epping Aquatic Centre at Dence Park, keeping Saturday racing and its swimming community together while Parramatta waited for a new pool.
2023: home again
Parramatta Aquatic Centre opened on 25 September 2023. Club members joined the celebrations as PMSC returned to Parramatta.
The connections to the past remain: the outdoor Memorial Swimming Pool, the Kevin Hession grandstand and a heritage display featuring Club memorabilia.
2023: an opening-day tribute to 1959
When the old pool opened in 1959, local store Murray Brothers presented a swimwear fashion parade. At PAC’s opening in 2023, Club members paid homage with a fashion show of their own: a joyful link between two opening days, 64 years apart.
Another moment from the 2023 parade
Today, Club racing, training and social swimming continue at PAC, with new swimmers and volunteers adding their own chapter.
Drawn from Club records, Council archives and members’ memories. With thanks to life member Peter Hession and the families who have preserved the Club’s photographs.
Sources and photo credits
- PMSC archive: minutes of the public meeting on 29 September 1964; Peter Hession’s account of the early years; Club photographs. Approximate periods for early Club memories follow Peter’s account; individual outings are not precisely dated.
- City of Parramatta: The Parramatta and District War Memorial Swimming Pool—community fundraising, opening and closure.
- Council papers, 27 April 2009, item 11.2—Kevin Hession’s teaching and the 1970s lifesaving program.
- Council minutes, 9 April 2018, item 7.3—PMSC as an Epping Aquatic Centre user group.
- Council papers, 25 September 2023, item 8.1—PAC’s opening and memorial names.
- City of Parramatta: Swimming through time—the Club’s volunteer lessons and memorabilia display.
- City of Parramatta: A Pool for Parramatta!—the 1959 swimwear parade. 1959 film still supplied by Brodie Wright from Parramatta Heritage’s opening-day film at 3:06; linked to the original video. The Club’s 2023 tribute is recorded in the Club’s opening-day photographs and account.
- Original pool photograph: City of Parramatta Archives, PRS111/980, from the Council Engineers’ Department photographic negatives. Source linked in the caption; Council’s copyright and reuse information. Image reproduced without alteration. Other photographs: PMSC Media Archive, with named collections or photographers credited in captions.