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Draft:Surrey Park Swimming Club

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Club information
CityBox Hill, Victoria, Australia
Founded1904

Surrey Park Swimming Club is one of Australia’s oldest and largest swimming clubs, based in Box Hill, Victoria. Established in 1904, the club currently has over 600 active members, including around 320 competitive swimmers.[1]

History

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The club began in 1904 when local sportsmen petitioned the Nunawading Shire Council to convert an abandoned clay pit into a swimming venue, later known as the Surrey Dive.[2] By February 1906, the club had been formally established and affiliated with the Victorian Amateur Swimming Association.[2]

The first major carnival in March 1907 attracted 4,000–5,000 spectators. The headline event, the Victorian One Mile Championship, was won by Frank Beaurepaire, who set a new Victorian record at just 17.[3]

In October 1925, political activist Ivy Weber successfully advocated for women to be admitted to the club, ending its male-only membership policy. The Surrey Park Ladies Swimming Club was officially formed in February 1926.[4]

In 1933, a ten-lane, 100‑metre course was installed at Surrey Dive, making it the first Olympic-standard swimming pool in Australia**.[4]

Swimming lessons

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The club has been teaching swimming since the early 1900s, originally at the Surrey Dive.[2] Since 2024, learn-to-swim programs are offered at three sites:

  • Aqualink Box Hill, featuring indoor and outdoor pools;
  • Surrey Park Blackburn, with a mineral salts‑based pool;[5]
  • Surrey Park Heidelberg, similarly equipped with a mineral salt pool.

Competitive achievements

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Surrey Park ranked third overall among Victorian clubs in 2000–01.[2]

Between 2008 and 2013, the club won the C.B. Rickards Trophy at the Australian Open Water Championships five times, finishing second only in 2011.[1]

Other sports

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The club has historically participated in:

  • Diving – now exclusively taught at Aqualink Box Hill;
  • Water polo – fielded competitive teams, producing Olympians such as Michael Withers and Robert Menzies;
  • Synchronised swimming – active during the 1930s–1950s, later producing national representatives such as Clare Conway, who competed for Australia at the 1985 Pan Pacific Championships at age 17.[6]

Facilities

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  • Surrey Dive – historic open‑water pool and heritage site;[4]
  • Aqualink Box Hill Aquatic Centre – main training facility;
  • Learn-to-swim centres at Blackburn and Heidelberg.[1]

Membership

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As of 2025, the club has over 600 active members, including approximately 320 competitive swimmers.[1]

Notable members

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  • Valerie George – Australian 220yd breaststroke champion and the club’s first Australian representative, winning bronze in the 3×110yd medley relay at the 1938 British Empire Games.[7]
  • Alwyn Barrett – Victorian swimmer in the 1950s and 60s, who in 1961 defeated reigning Olympic champion Dawn Fraser in the 400m individual medley at the Victorian Championships. Barrett narrowly missed selection for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, was awarded Life Membership of Surrey Park in 1964, and went on to become a coach, mentoring world champion Linley Frame.[8]
  • Michael Withers – three-time Olympian (1960, 1964, 1972) as a water polo goalkeeper and an Australian Water Polo Hall of Fame inductee.[9]
  • Robert Menzies – Represented Australia in water polo at the 1972 Munich Olympics.[10]
  • Annemieke Mein – Australian textile artist, who was a competitive swimmer and diver for Surrey Park during the 1960s before her artistic career.
  • Clare Conway – Represented Australia in synchronised swimming at the 1985 Pan Pacific Championships as a 17-year-old.[11]
  • Chloë McCardel – Former Surrey Park age-group swimmer, later becoming a multiple world record holder in marathon swimming and English Channel crossings.[12]
  • Samantha Hamill – Represented Australia at the 2007 Youth Olympics while swimming for Surrey Park, later competing at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics.[13]
  • Matt Welsh OAM – Former Surrey Park swimmer who trained under Coach Ian Pope. Welsh represented Australia at the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympics, winning two silver medals (100 m backstroke & 4×100 m medley relay) and one bronze (200 m backstroke). He is a multiple World and Commonwealth Champion and former World Record holder in backstroke and butterfly events. Welsh was first identified by Pope at Surrey Park at age 18, where his international career was launched.[14]
  • Ian Pope – Began his coaching career at Surrey Park in 1983 and was appointed the Club’s first professional Head Coach in 1985. He built the Club’s program from 40 to over 200 swimmers across multiple locations. Pope was awarded Life Membership of Surrey Park in 2004 and, in 2020, received Life Membership of Swimming Victoria for his outstanding contributions to the sport.[15][16]
  • Janelle Pallister (née Elford) – former Olympic swimmer (1988), Commonwealth Games gold medallist (1990), and appointed Head Coach of Surrey Park from 2025.[17]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Surrey Park Swimming Club – About Us
  2. ^ a b c d O’Donnell, Gerard (2004). Fog on the Dive: 100 Years of the Surrey Park Swimming Club 1904–2004.
  3. ^ The Box Hill Reporter, 2 March 1907.
  4. ^ a b c Whitehorse City Council (2016). Whitehorse Heritage Review 2012, updated 2016.
  5. ^ Surrey Park Swimming – Saltwater Pool Blackburn
  6. ^ Artistic Swimming Victoria – Awards and Achievements
  7. ^ Commonwealth Games medallists – Swimming (women)
  8. ^ Interview with Alwyn Barrett
  9. ^ Australian Olympic Committee – Michael Withers
  10. ^ Australian Olympic Committee – Robert Menzies
  11. ^ Artistic Swimming Victoria – Awards and Achievements
  12. ^ Chloë McCardel – Wikipedia
  13. ^ Australian Olympic Committee – Samantha Hamill
  14. ^ Matt Welsh – Wikipedia
  15. ^ Director of Coaching Appointment – Surrey Park
  16. ^ Victorian Swimming Life Membership Awards
  17. ^ Janelle Elford
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