Katikati’s Dave Hume Pool at 50 looking to become undercover facility

The trustees of Katikati's Dave Hume Pool are celebrating its 50th anniversary (left to right): trustee Graeme Thomson, chairwoman Barbara Martin and complex manager and trustee Peter Allsop.

Katikati’s Dave Hume Pool is to become an all-weather, undercover facility, 50 years after it opened.

The pool, which was named for the chairman of the original Swimming Bath Committee, was completed and opened in 1973.

At the time, the Katikati Advertiser described the tireless work members of the community put into breaking ground on day one of the project.

“Work began at 7am and continued throughout the day and into the night.”

The pool’s official opening in 1973 was attended by then-Prime Minister Norman Kirk, who praised the community effort involved in building the facility.

“Mr Kirk said he had heard in Wellington of the great efforts of Dave Hume in gathering his flock together to work on the project, and organising them to complete it.”

Since then, the pool has been a seasonal staple in the community.

As well as being open to the public, it is used by the surf life-saving club and exercise groups, and is where generations of school students have learned how to swim.

To mark the momentous occasion of its 50th anniversary, the public is being invited to swim or walk 50km in the pool - one kilometre for each of its years.

Participants who complete the challenge will receive a certificate signed by the manager and chairwoman of the Dave Hume Pool.

Meanwhile, the trustees are also looking to the pool’s future, with plans in the pipeline to construct a cover which will enable year-round use of the facility.

Pool trustee Peter Allsop said the need for a cover was clear, both to extend when the pool could be used, but also for inclement weather in the summer.

“This year, the weather’s been awful at times, so the cover would have been useful this year.”

Currently, about 200 children are enrolled in the learn-to-swim programme, but a cover would mean more students could be taught at other times of the year.

With around 20,000 visits in the current opening season, Allsop said, the wider community could benefit from opening up the pool year-round.

“A covered pool would be the only one between Tauranga and Hamilton.”

Bids to construct the cover are currently open and tenders close near the end of the month, with a supplier to be finalised in June.

The current working budget is $3.3 million, with almost 60 per cent of funds coming from the Western Bay of Plenty Regional Council.

$850,000 has been secured from other sources, which include the Bay Trust.

The pool has been a central part of Katikati for 50 years, Allsop said, and the cover project would help to ensure this continues long into the future.

“It’s been a great asset to the community.”