Ninety years after the Maroubra Bay Progress Association asked for a new ocean pool to carry Patrick Mahon’s name, swimmers still descend the steps below Jack Vanny Reserve to the stretch of coastline he helped improve.
Mahon never saw the project finished. The Randwick alderman died in 1935 while the rock pool was still taking shape, after supporting plans to turn a natural bathing spot at northern Maroubra into a safer and more accessible swimming place.
From Rock Platform To Ocean Pool
Maroubra swimmers had already been using the natural rock formations at the northern end of the beach when plans emerged for a formal pool. Mahon became one of the strongest supporters of the proposal and sought the workers and materials needed to carry it out.
Archival reporting records Randwick Council receiving correspondence from NSW Minister for Labour and Industry John Dunningham about the possibility of constructing a rock swimming pool at Maroubra. Mahon then moved for a council deputation to seek materials and workers for the project, and the proposal was adopted.
The pool was developed during the Depression, when public works were also providing employment. Mahon pursued broader improvements along the foreshore and beach reserves, including a proposal seeking £13,500 a year for seven years for coastal works.
His efforts were not confined to the shoreline. Mahon also supported improved conditions for outdoor council workers, additional land for Randwick General Cemetery and better services for families living in the Long Bay Camps. He also backed shark protection measures at Coogee and Maroubra.
Photo Credit: RandwickCityCouncil
Mahon attended a special council meeting on 27 August 1935 where unemployment relief funding and beach works were among the matters considered. By the next regular meeting on 3 September, the 43-year-old had died after collapsing during a council meeting and later dying in hospital.
His son, Brother John Mahon, later recorded that his father had been in declining health and died from kidney failure. Patrick Mahon left his wife Ellen and nine children, with friends and former colleagues helping the family through the difficult period that followed. Council also established a community fund to assist them.
Maroubra Gave The Pool His Name
Mahon was buried at Botany Cemetery on 4 September 1935, with Father Fitzpatrick officiating at the graveside. Relatives, council representatives, union members and other people connected with his work attended the funeral.
Six months later, Maroubra residents moved to preserve his connection with the unfinished swimming pool. On 3 March 1936, the Maroubra Bay Progress Association asked that the bathing pool at the foot of Torrington Road be named the Mahon Memorial Pool. Randwick Council agreed later that month.
Photo Credit: RandwickCityCouncil
Construction took place across 1935 and 1936 around the existing natural swimming area. Unlike a conventional aquatic centre, Mahon Pool retained much of the character of its coastal setting, with direct seawater, a sandy and rocky floor and waves able to wash over its seaward edge.
Generations of swimmers have since used the pool. The Maroubra Seals Winter Swimming Club has held Sunday handicap races and social gatherings there for decades, while athletes have also used the water for training.
Its exposed position has brought an ongoing cycle of maintenance and repair. New amenities were completed in 2019, while severe winter storms in 2020 sent a large boulder into the pool, requiring machinery to break it up and remove it. Entry stairs and balustrades were upgraded and the pool resurfaced in 2025.
Mahon Pool remains free and unpatrolled, with tides, swell and marine conditions affecting the water from day to day. Cleaning is generally scheduled for Wednesdays.
Ninety years after the Maroubra Bay Progress Association secured Patrick Mahon’s name for the pool, it remains part of the suburb’s everyday coastline — still used for early swims, winter races, training sessions and time in the water.
Published 30-September-2026
