2001 – Australia, Western Australia
The lack of shark meshing at Western Australia’s surf beaches and a fatal shark attack at Perth’s iconic Cottesloe Beach led a group of local residents to begin lobbying for development of a seawater pool as a safety measure and a visitor attraction.
2002 – Australia, New South Wales
Rising public liability costs led Wyong Council to consider closing The Entrance Ocean Baths or charging entry fees. This prompted a community petition to heritage-list The Entrance Ocean Baths and prevent their closure.
2003 – Australia, New South Wales
Waverley Council refused permission to film a QANTAS television commercial at Bronte Baths during the pool’s peak period of summertime use.
The Entrance Ocean Baths on the Central Coast received NSW heritage listing and NSW Premier Bob Carr pledged $330,000 in state funding for the pool.
2005 – Australia, New South Wales
Before heading south to Melbourne to win the 2005 AFL premiership, the Sydney Swans Australian Football team had a training session at Maroubra’s Mahon Pool.
2006 – Australia, New South Wales
Newcastle City Council decided that the diving blocks at the Newcastle Ocean Baths were too high for safe use.
2007 – Australia, New South Wales
One case illustrated the post-2002 approach to injuries sustained at ocean pools in New South Wales. Novak Vujanic sued Randwick City Council for eight million dollars, alleging that Council had failed in its duty of care by failing to signpost the Giles Baths rock pool adequately or supervise it at peak times. As a recently arrived Serbian refugee, he watched people diving into the Giles Baths rock pool on Christmas Day 2003 before making two successful dives himself. On his third and last dive, Vujanic struck his head on a submerged rock and became a tetraplegic. Vujanic agreed to drop the action after NSW Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Fullerton stated that it would be difficult to establish that his dive was not a dangerous recreational activity.
Renovations to the Black Head pool on the NSW north coast were funded in part by a substantial private donation and community fundraising efforts co-ordinated by the Hallidays Point Tidy Town subcommittee. These included a lapathon at the pool and an exhibition of photographs of the pool.
Maroubra residents demonstrated against a proposal for café that they view as a threat to the treasured ambience of Mahon Pool.
2010 – Australia, New South Wales
A 26-year-old man named Nathan Luke died after the critical injuries he sustained on the Australia Day holiday, when he dived five metres and hit his head on a submerged rock in the Newcastle Bogey Hole, an ocean pool where he had often swum. Suggestions that the heritage-listed Bogey Hole be closed provoked a public backlash, with objections from regular pool users, the National Trust, politicians and the Hunter community. Newcastle’s Greek Orthodox Community needed special permission from the NSW Department of Land and Property Management to stage their annual Epiphany ceremony at the Bogey Hole.
A plaque at the Black Head Pool acknowledged the volunteer work at the pool by the group known as Dad’s Army.
2011 – Australia, New South Wales
Black Head Pool threatened with closure by Greater Taree Council on the grounds of increasing cost and legislative requirements.
Olympic swimmer Geoff Huegill chose the Bondi Icebergs Pool as the venue to announce his intention to try for a place in the Australian swimming team for the 2012 Olympics.
2011 – Australia, Western Australia
Champion open-water swimmer, Shelly Taylor-Smith, lent her support to Perth’s Cottesloe Beach Pool Committee and spoke of missing Sydney’s rock pools.
2011 – United Kingdom, Cornwall
Withdrawal of public funding from Cornwall’s Bude Sea Pool prompted formation of Friends of Bude Sea Pool (FoBSP) to keep the pool operational and in use.
2012 – Australia, New South Wales
Great Ocean Pool Crawl links some of the Illawarra’s ocean pools.
2012 – United Kingdom, Cornwall
Friends of Bude Sea Pool (FoBSP) took on day-to-day management of Cornwall’s Bude Sea Pool.
2015 – Australia
All Into Ocean Pools Inc became incorporated in Western Australia and launches its website..
Ocean pools remain more likely than other Australian public pools to have signs warning of the dangers of falling rocks or polluted waters.
2015 – Australia, Western Australia
Public campaign for development of an ocean pool at Quinns Beach on Perth’s Northern Beaches.
2016 – Australia
All Into Ocean Pools Inc awards its inaugural AU$1000 Sheridan Evans Award for art relating to ocean pools jointly to Lizzie Buckmaster Dove and Jennifer Baird. Entries had to relate to one or more of the Australian ocean pools profiled on the All into Ocean Pools Inc website.
2017
All Into Ocean Pools Inc awards its annual AU$1000 Sheridan Evans Award for art relating to ocean pools and the inaugural Pat Skinner Award for writing relating to ocean pools. Entries had to relate to one or more of the ocean pools profiled on the All into Ocean Pools Inc website.