QUEANBEYAN Mayor Tim Overall remembers making a splash at the local pool in the 1960s which is today celebrating its 50th summer of swimming carnivals and lifesaving lessons with a free open day.
Opened on November 11, 1961, Mr Overall says the aquatic centre has seen significant changes since he first dived into the deep end of the then Queanbeyan War Memorial Olympic Swimming Pool as a boy - including a major upgrade of the outdoor pool in 2000 and the opening of the indoor pool in 2004. Now, more then 130,000 people use the centre each year.
Mr Overall invited people from around the region to rekindle their memories of by-gone summers at the pool's open day today.
''I doubt there would be many Queanbeyan residents who don't have a memory of the centre,'' he said.
''I certainly have some fond memories of the centre. In the early 1960s I competed in swimming carnivals and I was also a Royal Life Saving Society instructor for fellow school kids lining up for their Bronze Medallion.
''Queanbeyan Pool was the only pool in the Canberra district to allow life saving classes.''
Queanbeyan Aquatic Centre open day, Moore Park, Crawford Street, Queanbeyan. Free entry, day includes Access to the Aquatic Centre's inflatable equipment, free face painting, balloon modelling, temporary tattooing and games, free sausage sizzle and soft drinks and giveaways. Enquiries: 62856346.
