We like sneak previews.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
We were given one on Monday of a new two-part documentary series on the ABC, titled The Pool. The Bogey Hole is one of the stars of the show.
Ocean pools researcher Marie Louise-McDermott said the Bogey Hole "appears to be the earliest constructed pool we know about".
"It's there by about the 1820s," she said, adding that convict-era excavation techniques were used.
"The convicts were probably the ones doing the digging but we can't really be sure."
We can't imagine anyone else doing the digging, but we get what Marie is saying.
In fact, heritage records do say convicts started building the Bogey Hole around 1819 to 1820 under orders from Major James Morisset, then Newcastle's commandant.
But let's get back to the documentary. If you're like us, as soon as you start watching it, you'll be transported smack-bang into the heat and humidity of summer and the relief that comes from the cool, crisp water of a pool - in a backyard or ocean-side.
You might find yourself feeling a kind of nostalgia for the pools of your youth, as the show takes you on a journey to the heart of Australian identity through "the prism of the pool".
"The pool is a focal point for leisure and community, but beneath its allure as a hedonistic playground lies the surprising and untold story of a battleground where feminism, racism and sexuality were explored, and sporting heroes born," the show's blurb says.
"Stripped to our budgie smugglers or boardies, bikinis or burqinis, we all have nostalgic memories of the pool - relief from the blistering heat, the sting of chlorine, the terror of the school swim carnival, poolside fashion, bellyflops, bombs and dives."
Narrator Richard Roxburgh notes that "water is our nation's lifeblood, where we truly celebrate our freedom".
Channeling the Indigenous past, he says the "echo of the billabong" reverberates through the story of the pool.
"When the convicts arrived in Australia, the sea represented the walls of their prison. They were terrified of the ocean. To escape the heat, the fledgling colony started to build ocean pools as sanctuaries from dangerous rips and deadly predators."
The show's director Sally Aitken asks whether the pool is egalitarian. She suggests it's a place where "we strip off our clothes and our fears".
"When everyone is in a cossie, it's the great leveller," she says.
The first episode airs on Sunday at 7.40pm.
Thong Tree
Speaking of Australian things, we came across a thong tree at Corlette last week.
Old thongs can be tragic things. So much walking done on stinky human feet. Then, one day, they get tossed. Not at Corlette, though. Old thongs are honoured on a eucalyptus tree.
While you're with us, did you know Newcastle Herald offers breaking news alerts, daily email newsletters and more? Keep up to date with all the local news - sign up here.
IN NEWS TODAY:
- Kobe Duck has returned to school after rare disease, acute flaccid myelitis, left him paralysed and unable to breathe, eat or swallow
- Claims union pressure left student strikers to raise $600 for stage
- Trinity Thompson found: The 15 year-old from Cooks Hill has been reunited with her family
- AP Eagers succeeds in Automotive Holding Group (AHG) takeover: What it means for Newcastle and the Hunter
- Klemmer cleared for end-of-season Tests