Mahon Pool at Maroubra Beach May Soon Have Its Own Emergency Response Beacon

An Emergency Response Beacon may be installed at Mahon Pool in 2023/2024. The plan was revealed following the unveiling of two ERBs at Little Bay and Malabar beaches.



“The installation of the new beacons can give our community peace of mind, knowing that emergency services can be notified of an incident and help can be on the way quickly,” Dylan Parker, Mayor of Randwick, said last 19 December 2022.

Announced as well are plans to install another ERB at Mahon Pool by 2023 at the earliest.

The Emergency Response Beacons are designed to be operated in remote locations and were built to withstand the elements.  Used at many unpatrolled locations along the NSW coastline, the installation is meant to reduce the emergency response times to incidents, so it is important to have the unit activated only in the event of an emergency situation.

The ERBs are approximately 10 feet tall with each equipped with cameras and a solar panel mounted at the top which powers the unit. It also has an intercom system that’s directly connected to the NSW Surf Lifesaving State Operations Centre 24/7, 365 days a year.

Lifeguard Brad Rope with new Emergency Response Beacon | Photo credit: Facebook / Randwick City Council 

The beacons installed at Little Bay and Malabar beaches are undergoing brief testing and should be working and active in the coming days. The two locations are popular destinations among beachgoers, rock fishers and boat users. 

Council said that across the last three beach seasons (2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22), Little Bay and Malabar Beach, had 10 and 17 emergency callouts, respectively.



Mayor Dylan Parker added that the installation of the ERBs will make a meaningful improvement to beach safety in the area.

Mahon Pool and Ross Jones Memorial Pool Restoration Now Complete

Check out the newly upgraded Mahon Pool and Ross Jones Memorial Pool, completed as part of the Ocean Pool Restoration Program, aimed at updating and repairing pools with damaged coping caused by constant large swells, severe storms, and strong winds.



“After many false starts due to rain, swell, tides – and not to mention more rain! We have finally completed all the repair work at Mahon Pool and Ross Jones Memorial Pool. 🌊✨ Thank you for your patience while we completed these jobs,” Randwick City Council’s social media post last November 2022 reads.

Randwick’s ocean pools are constantly being battered by large swells, severe storms and high winds. In 2019, the Malabar Pool underwent coping restoration but was found to fall short of expectations prompting the council to seek other cementing products that would deliver the desired results.

Mahon Pool and Ross Jones Memorial Pool Restoration Now Complete
Photo credit:  Facebook/ Randwick City Council

Once the suitable product was identified, the council proceeded with repairs at Wylie’s Baths which proved to have delivered excellent results, even after a year of completion. 

Following the successful coping restoration of Wylie’s Baths pool, Randwick City Council undertook a similar upgrade of the three other pools identified as needing restoration work around their outer edge or coping.

 Mahon Pool and Ross Jones Memorial Pool Restoration Now Complete
Photo credit:  Facebook/ Randwick City Council

Malabar, Mahon and Ross Jones Pools then underwent an upgrade and coping restoration as well as additional minor civil works.

These minor civil works include:

  • Malabar Pool – preparation of pit grates, jetting of pump system,  removal of loose materials.
  • Mahon Pool – remove existing hand rail, preparation and installation of new timber posts, removal of existing hand rail and installation of new hand rails, grout repair, removal of loose materials.
  • Ross Jones Pool –  preparation of top of columns and grouting of columns.

All three ocean pools have now been restored.

About Mahon Pool

Mahon rock pool is located north of Maroubra Beach right at the base of Jack Vanny Reserve. It was built in 1935-1936 following a petition presented to Randwick City Council by Alderman Patrick Mahon. 

Mahon Pool has in recent years been the preferred training venue of the Sydney Swans AFL team and other elite athletes.

In 2020, a large bolder slipped into the Mahon pool during wild winter sea storms. The bolder had to be moved and broken up by heavy machinery for visitors to gain safe access again to the pool.

About Ross Jones Memorial Pool

Ross Jones Memorial Pool is situated next to Coogee Surf Life Saving Club. It was built in 1947 and is a popular destination for families and children.

The rock pool is named and dedicated after Roscoe Jones, the Alderman for East Ward from 1934 to 1937.



The Ocean Pool Restoration Program is funded by a $300,000 grant from the federal government.

Mahon Pool At Maroubra Beach Set To Undergo Coping Restoration

Following the success of Wylie’s Baths pool coping restoration, three more ocean pools across NSW are set to receive upgrades, including Mahon Pool, which is located to the north of Maroubra Beach at the base of Jack Vanny Reserve.


Read: Get To Know Maroubra-Born Ron Finneran OAM, Australia’s First Winter Paralympian


Scope of works for Mahon Pool involve removing existing hand rail, preparation and installation of new timber posts, removal of existing hand rail and installation of new hand rails, grout repair, removal of loose materials.

The upgrades are part of the Ocean Pool Restoration Program, which is one of the major projects of Randwick City Council in 2022. A grant of $300,000 has been provided by the federal government for this project.

mahon pool maroubra
Photo credit: Randwick City Council

Aside from Mahon Pool, the Malabar Ocean Pool and Ross Jones Pool were also identified as needing restoration work around the outer edge of the pool, known as the coping. 

A product called Cement-All was used when coping was redone at Wylie’s Baths, and the end result is of excellent condition, even more than a year later. It will now be applied at Malabar, Mahon and Ross Jones Pools to upgrade and renew the coping. In addition, minor civil works will be done at each pool.

wylie's baths
Wylie’s Baths (Photo credit: G Yours/Google Maps)

Cement All is a highly engineered cementitious grout product that can be applied from feather edge to as much as 100mm thick in single passes. It’s also a rapid set product, enabling its application to set within one-hour, prior to tides returning and compromising the bond to the substrate or the curing of the product.

Meanwhile, locals are being reminded that ocean pools will be closed whilst the work takes place.

The timeline for work at Mahon Pool will be from Tuesday 14 June – Thursday 30 June 2022.

To stay updated about the project, visit Randwick City Council’s website

Two Interactive Outdoor Classrooms Installed in Maroubra

Do you have curious children who love to learn about how things work? Then take them to the new interactive outdoor classrooms in Maroubra to understand how Randwick City’s biggest stormwater harvest and reuse system works!

The Council has recently installed two interactive sites near Maroubra beach’s playground and at the Mahon Pool that will teach the children how the tanks for collecting rainwater, built under Arthur Byrne Reserve in the last 10 months, is being used to hydrate public parks and gardens and supply water in some parts of the city. 



The kids will enjoy knowing how much water is saved in the two one-million litre tanks on the ground, which will continually keep the grasses and trees around the suburb lush and green. 

The interactive outdoor classrooms were officially unveiled at the end of March 2021 with some school children from the nearby St Mary St Joseph Catholic School. 

Photo Credit: Randwick City Council

Meanwhile, the South Maroubra SLSC also tested the new Arthur Byrne Reserve sprinkler system at the clubhouse grounds and it works efficiently

Photo Credit: Facebook


The Arthur Byrne Reserve is Randwick City Council’s 14th stormwater harvesting system. Construction commenced in mid-2020 and took at least three stages to complete. The project al has an automatic irrigation system that will provide water for the toilets and amenities, including potable water, found in these public places:

  • Arthur Byrne Reserve
  • Broadarrow Reserve
  • Jack Vanny Reserve
  • Maroubra Beach
  • John Shore Reserve
  • Murranborah Reserve

Mahon Pool: Quiet Family Spot Beyond the Surfing Mecca

As a surfing hotspot, Maroubra’s beaches are expectedly crowded, especially during the weekends, but towards the clifftops to the northern end is a quiet bathing spot known as Mahon Pool.

To the unfamiliar, finding Mahon Pool might not be easy coming from the beaches on Marine Parade but locals sure know that amidst the mossy pit and down by the rocky formation is a natural tidal pool, which has been developed and improved since the 1930s. 



Mahon Pool is where frazzled Sydney dwellers go to take a dip and unwind, sans the mob. Usually relaxing and scenic, this outdoor pool thrills the adventurous as well. Whenever the tide is up and the wind is strong, good waves usually follow. 

This has been the go-to watering hole for families with kids for decades because, aside from swimming, the rock formation is a haven for exploration and discovery. On the grassy spot, locals, who know each other by name, usually enjoy a picnic. 

Photo Credit: Anna Szczecińska/Google Maps
Photo Credit: Lisa Paquin/Facebook

Elite athletes and the Sydney Swans AFL team use the pool for training on some days. The water can be extra cold during the winter months when only the brave souls dare take a dip. 

Prior to the pandemic, improvements to the toilet and changing facilities on the clifftops were undertaken, making a trip to Mahon Pool all the more worth it. The building, designed by Lahz Nimmo Architects, was made to blend with the environment and won the 2020 NSW Landscape Awards. 

Photo Credit: Lahz Nimmo Architects

Mahon Pool was named for Alderman Mahon, a South Ward representative who lobbied to improve the tidal pool to what it is today. He died in 1935, before seeing Mahon Pool’s development. Maroubra Bay Progress Association petitioned Council to memorialise him by attaching his name to the bathing site.