The Olympic Leisure Centre in Heidelberg West has been an iconic local favourite for almost 50 years. Unfortunately, now it will close its doors for good, leaving many members of the community with the horrible choice. The facility is set to close down for good. It has been a key community asset for local area residents, providing access to swimming, social engagement and mental well-being. It’s hit local Muslim women who need culturally appropriate swimming options hard and has left many longtime regulars heartbroken.
For Fatuma Abdullahi, the NWAC pool has been more than a place to swim, it has been a refuge. In a letter to the community, she lamented the impending closure. She stressed that Muslim women who wear the hijab have limited options and tend to feel unwelcome in public pools. “We can’t go [swimming] in public places because we have the hijab, we are Muslim,” she said. The closure of the Olympic Leisure Centre robs us of so much more than a building. It does not just cut off critical transportation routes, though.
Emotional Reactions from Longtime Patrons
Margaret James, an 83-year-old daily attendee at the centre, said it would break her heart for the facility to close. “I’m pretty devastated that the council is closing the pool,” she said. For her, the pool has brought peace and purpose — in her own journey and as a valued member of her community. “Here, people will stop and say, ‘I haven’t seen you before!’” she added, highlighting the social bonds built within the facility’s walls.
Jennifer Loulie, meanwhile, expressed her distress about the community’s centre being lost. This loss hits her particularly hard. It’s the same pool where her older brother, Jean-Pierre, perished 45 years earlier. “For him to just die months after migrating here, I can’t even imagine what my parents would have been thinking and feeling,” she said. That’s what makes the memories attached to the pool’s closure all the more heartbreaking for her—and so many others.
Fowsiya Abdullahi reflected these sentiments, explaining how fundamental the pool has been to her mental health. “When I’m stressed, that’s where I go to feel better for my mental health. It’s very important for me in my life,” she remarked. Her desire to learn to swim for both herself and her children underscores the deep personal connections many have with the facility.
Community Response and Future Prospects
The upcoming closure caused alarm around the community, leading residents to speak out against the decision. CEJN Associate Bethany Moore has been in communication with the council. Now she’s pushing them to give the local women access to appropriate swimming facilities. “It’s really about providing a service that continues this offering to the women of community connection and healthy lifestyle activities,” she emphasized.
Liz Taylor, a researcher at Monash University, wants to know what would be the health impacts of losing such a facility. They say it’s too expensive, it’s old, nobody likes it — but the people who live there use it and they like it, she stated. She hopes her research will help predict how the closure will impact community health and social cohesion and bring more attention to these issues.
Banyule mayor Elizabeth Nealy made the shocking announcement that the existing pool will be closed. She laid out some thrilling plans to rebuild the land erased by the highway. The combined new facilities will include a state-of-the-art library and an expanded gym. They’ll go beyond with flexible recreation spaces that can adapt to suit a variety of community needs. Many residents have argued that these new offerings will never account for what the leisure centre uniquely provides.
A Reflection on Loss and Legacy
The arguments for and against the city-owned Olympic Leisure Centre’s closure echo contemporary debates about public swimming pools in every state and territory in Australia. Much of this infrastructure was constructed post-World War II. Now, despite their historical value and an overwhelming spirit of abandonment, they are undergoing the very same tragic fate. In 1994, public campaign won back the Fitzroy Swimming Pool from closure. This hard-earned victory reminds us that community activism can be a mighty force for conspicuous protection of local treasures.
The Loulies just want to keep other families from suffering the tragedy hers did, Jennifer Loulie said. She’s motivated by the tragic memory of her brother’s drowning. “Thinking about the disinvestment in this facility — this could happen to another child in our area, not knowing how to swim,” she cautioned. Her dedication to continuing the fight for swimming education shows how deeply this issue resonates with communities everywhere in terms of safety, accessibility, and opportunity.
