At the moment these are just notes. Hopefully I’ll come back later and make them into a proper article.
I went for a walk along Williamstown Beach and right at the end of the stroll, I spotted this in the water opposite Sirens (the West end of Sirens, to be precise):
The round one looked like rock or metal and was cleanly cut with a hole in it, right in the middle. Could it be something to do with the (long-vanished) old Sea Baths?
Here’s a great photo of the Sea Baths. Note they are off-shore:
Source: http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/24981
According to [1] “Bunbury’s and Lillington’s Baths were replaced by the Williamstown Baths, which were the largest in Port Phillip Bay in 1888. The baths were located half way between Forster and Gardens Streets, with a promenade leading to a bathing structure that had two enclosures in 1892” (emphasis mine)
It then adds “A bandstand was added sometime after 1904” and “Dressing sheds were added in the 1930’s and are now used as Sirens Restaurant … The baths were destroyed in a ferocious storm in 1934, and bathing patterns changed to reflect a more open acceptance of mixed sea bathing … A dressing pavilion, saltwater swimming pool and Lifesaving clubrooms were added around 1935”
Here’s a view using Google Earth as it looks today (with their new 3D buildings showing, nice!)
The (picture) left street -coming at us – is Foster and the right one is Gardens. My attention was drawn to the curved (rock rubble?) structure off shore and near the end of Gardens St. Could it be the foundations of the original baths? Some thoughts:
1) The “curved rock rubble” is not “halfway” between the two streets at all. In fact the sea bed is relatively clear halfway, so I’m wondering if that was a very approximate location given in [1]
2) The round object in my photo is roughly in the middle of the above rock rubble, but right near the shore.
Time for some more research and questions of FB.
References
[1]http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/vhd/heritagevic/?timeout=yes#detail_places;13689
just reading your interesting data on the baths. The half round pile of rocks relate to Lillingtons ladies baths. The Sea baths were to the left of the rock piles say some 50-75 metres. Lillington baths finished several years after the Sea Baths were constructed. After the death of James Lillington in 1890 the buildings etc were sold off and the rock wall, created in the 1880’s slowly fell away
The Sea baths were badly damaged by a massive storn in 1934 and soon after the their board decided to close for ever. A number of the support piles remained and finally were cut down/removed as they were a hazard early 1940’s For a while the support piles were used to create what looks to be a shark net (as shown in a c1940 aerial photo.
Hi David, Thanks for this site, T’was a co-incidence to find you had a photo link on the baths, after seeing article via nla.trove,Williamstown Chronicle 28 Dec 1895 headed “Boxing Day” -referring to merry go rounds, swing boats etc &
THE WILLIAMSTOWN BATHS.
Morning,.noon and night the’ baths
were crowded. Apart from the throng
on Christmas Day, 1000 bathers paid
for admission, in addition to the
annual ticket holders and their families,
on Boxing Day. It was not altogether
“.beer and skittles” with the manager
Mr Streiff and his -good wife..
all went off as smoothly and pleasantly
Streiff being your late Uncle Ham’s gr-grandparents who ran a few local hotels. They gave swimming lessons to the children as well. On hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au site I see the baths were built 1888 at current site of the kiosk, hot sea baths being added 1902. It seems then women’s bathing was in that semicircle area (Google view). Then from Will’town Chronicle 3 Nov 1894 on the Baths inspection it speaks of the netting to protect swimmers, ‘an interesting improvement was found in the new galvanised wire netting
163 feet long by 15 feet deep, held on to the bottom by chains and stayed above from the force of the seas.’ Maybe part of that was what you found!
Hi David – I don’t know if your investigations are continuing with this but I only came across your site because I have friends now in Williamstown, and because I lived there between 1948 and 1968, I had related to them the diving board piers that were still there and which we used to swim out to (say 50m) from the beach. I did not know of a pre-1900 baths when I was a kid but it must have been what was left over from the old baths. I have photos of them but not easy to attach here unless I actually have your email address if interested. I have a different aerial of the earlier lillington baths and another looking east along the esplanade. This photo is very clear and shows the commencement of the walkway to the baths on the western side of Forster Street (not Foster) . I lived in Forster Street and I clearly recall the piers (2 of them) to the right as I walked down to the beach. The photo mentioned above shows the shop on the corner. I have an aerial of an early complex and some others (one from the other end of the beach to the one on your page), looking at the complex from the east (clearer shot). Another shows the big kiosk (now cafe). Anyway if interested email back or call 0260270904 (in Yackandandah now) – Ken