The Kowloon Tsai Swimming Pool () was the first public swimming pool complex in

Kowloon Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. Since the old

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

Swimming Pool was demolished in 2014, it stands as the oldest existing public swimming pool in Hong Kong. The pool complex is located in

Kowloon Tsai Park Kowloon Tsai Park is a park located in the Kowloon Tsai area of New Kowloon in Hong Kong. It lies within the Kowloon City District and opened on 5 June 1964. History In the 1950s, the area was used as a borrow area to supply fill for the extens ...

and comprises a main 50 metre pool, a leisure pool, and a children's pool.

History

It was decided in 1958 to build a swimming pool in Kowloon. On 5 January 1960 the chairman of the

Urban Council The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...

announced that a swimming pool would be built at Kowloon Tsai, on an area of land levelled to provide a safer approach for aircraft approaching the new runway at

Kai Tak Airport Kai Tak Airport was the international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. Officially known as Hong Kong International Airport from 1954 to 6 July 1998, it is often referred to as Hong Kong International Airport, Kai Tak, or simply Ka ...

. The pool's construction cost about $3.5 million, of which more than $2 million was contributed by the

Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong, having been founded in 1884. In 1959, it was granted a Royal Charter and renamed The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (). The institution reverted to its original name ...

. Works began on 30 March 1962 by contractors Hung Yue and Co. The pool's opening date was delayed by slow construction. The complex was finally opened on 5 June 1964 by Governor

David Trench Sir David Clive Crosbie Trench (; 2 June 1915 – 4 December 1988) was a British Army officer and colonial governor. Early life Trench was educated at Tonbridge School, Tonbridge, Kent and graduated from Jesus College, Cambridge with the degre ...

and Lady Trench. The Urban Council invited 2,000 children to attend the ceremony. Sir David unveiled a memorial plaque at the pool's entrance and fired a pistol to start the first school swimming race held there. Kowloon Tsai Swimming Pool was the first public swimming pool in

, and patronage in the first 30 days of operation averaged 4,784 people per day, well exceeding use of the territory's only other existing pool at Victoria Park. It is located in Kowloon Tsai Park, the first phase of which also opened in 1964. The opening of the pool was publicised internationally in a

British Pathé British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

newsreel A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, informa ...

, which stated a construction cost of £125,000 and highlighted the lack of bathing beaches in the densely populated vicinity. The pools are surrounded by various one-storey buildings housing changing rooms and offices. The pool water was originally supplied by a well sunk under the park specifically for this purpose. Originally, the pool's operation hours would end at 4:00 pm because it was situated under the airport flight path, hence the

Civil Aviation Department A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational statutory authority that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, including the maintenance of an aircraft register. Role Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles ...

prohibited the use of outdoor floodlighting there.

Planned demolition

The government plans to demolish the pool and replace it with a new complex with indoor and outdoor pools. The

Architectural Services Department The Architectural Services Department is a department of the Government of Hong Kong responsible for the design and construction of many public facilities throughout the territory. It is subordinate to the Works Branch of the Development Bu ...

invited private architectural firms to bid on the project in late 2015.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 22.3332, 114.1845, display=title Kowloon Tsai Swimming venues in Hong Kong