Sacred Women’s Place - McIver’s Ladies Baths, Coogee
Among Sydney’s beautiful ocean pools, McIver’s Ladies Baths is one of a kind as the only outdoor women’s swimspot in the Southern Hemisphere. A sense of the sacred is palpable in ocean views, salt-heavy air, and jagged cliffs that welcome you in, as if they hold something precious — like a sense of women's memories and stories, echoing from the very beginning.
Aerial View of McIver’s Ladies Baths in Coogee. Taken by Aquabumps
Location
McIver’s Ladies Baths is located in Coogee, NSW next to the larger, neighbouring ocean pool, Wyllie’s Baths. McIvers is fondly known as Coogee Ladies Baths and attracts women of all ages, from all cultures and faiths. The entry is down a small lane that forks off the main pathway, signposted but easy to miss for staring at the ocean beyond. The tiny 20c entry fee thrown into a plastic bucket remained for years. Although it’s now $2, one can hardly complain about the value.
Indigenous Heritage
The Coogee coastal area has a rich indigenous history, and we acknowledge the Muru-Ora-Dial people of the Eora nation as the traditional owners of the land. We pay our respects to the traditional custodians of this land and to Elders past, present and emerging. The name 'Coogee' comes from the Dharug word 'koojah,' meaning the smell of kelp drying. Koojah is a distinctive smell that still rises when tides strew seaweed along the beach.
Women’s Business
The Bidjigal and Gadigal clans fished around Coogee with spears and bark canoes, gathering shellfish and plants for food. Evidence suggests a local tradition of holding men’s business at the northern end of Coogee Beach, and women’s business at the southern end and the site of McIver’s Ladies Baths. The site was a sacred women’s place for bathing, fishing and birthing, away from men.
Post-colonial Haven
Around 1830, female colonists were only allowed to use men’s swimming pools at strictly limited times. Not surprisingly, they weren’t happy and they lobbied for their own pool. McIver’s Ladies Baths was officially opened in 1876 and has been renovated and rebuilt over time to its current structure. It was named after Rose McIver, whose family managed the baths for many years before they were taken on by the present day managers, Randwick & Coogee Ladies Amateur Swimming Club. The baths served as a training ground for Olympic swimmers Fanny Durack and Mina Wylie, just one of the myriad women’s stories born here.
Collective Power of Women
However, the baths weren’t special for everyone. Multiple legal challenges to its women-only status have been overcome thanks to the united power of women in local community efforts. In a 1940 case, the Mother Superior of Randwick’s Brigidine Convent led the charge, citing the needs of nuns and students for privacy and safety. During the 1990s, the baths won an exemption under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977, cementing its importance as a safe place for women and children. It is now protected by a National Heritage listing.
Sacred and Safe
McIver’s Ladies Baths stands as a symbol of women's community and empowerment, with rich historical, cultural, and recreational significance. It is celebrated in the memorable book edited by Lynne Spender, The Womens’s Pool, is a collection of stories written by the women who frequent this beautiful sanctuary. May the Coogee McIver’s Ladies Baths forever stay a safe and sacred place for every woman.
