Legendary swimming coach Laurie Lawrence has called for more access to public pools across Brisbane’s suburbs, as an analysis shows there are far fewer council facilities on the northside per person compared to the south.
According to the latest official population data, there is a council pool for about every 64,000 people in the city’s northern suburbs, and one for every 53,000 people south of the river.
But with the closure of the council-run Centenary Pool later this month – coinciding with QUT’s closure of its independently run Kelvin Grove pool – this disparity will get even worse.
Lawrence, an Olympic swimming coach and former rugby union player, said too many public pools were being closed across the country.
“Public pools are more than just a place to go and train and compete, they’re really the lifeblood of a community,” he said.
“It’s quite sad when we see public pools closing down, and a lot of them are closing down in the country now.”
The Brisbane City Council population has only grown since the 2021 census, reaching 1.38 million by June 2025.
No new pools have been built in that time, leaving nine on the northside and 13 on the southside. Families looking for water play areas can find four on the northside and 10 on the southside.
The Centenary Pool in Spring Hill will close on August 30 to be handed over to the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority on September 1.
It is unclear when construction will begin on the National Aquatic Centre, or when facilities will reopen to the public.
When Centenary Pool closes, there will be one council pool for every 72,000 people on the northside.
Queensland University of Technology also plans to permanently shut its 25-metre indoor swimming pool at Kelvin Grove Urban Village to make way for a new teaching, research, and gym facility.
The loss to community health and wellbeing from both pools closing will be immense, Lawrence said.
“I’m talking mental health as well as physical health,” he said. “I’m talking using the pools for rehabilitation after operations.
“I’m talking pools for people as they get older … whether it be in a big group, an aquarobic group, or whether it simply is you down there with a mate, walking up and down, chatting, communicating.”
Young families also join a community when children participate in swimming lessons, Lawrence said.
“With a lot of the classes, the parents have to stay in the water with the child,” he said.
“It’s in that water with other parents where lots of communication takes place – ‘What are you doing after the swimming lesson, do you want to go for a cup of coffee?’
“It’s a massive loss to the individual, but it’s a huge loss to the community.”
Lawrence described the Centenary closure as a very strange decision.
“The Olympics are supposed to bring benefits to the community by adding facilities, not taking away facilities. By adding things that can be beneficial for future generations.
“That should be the legacy of any Olympic Games, it shouldn’t be the closing down of pools.”
More than 1600 people have signed a petition opposing the closure of the QUT pool, due to happen on September 1.
A QUT spokesperson told this masthead it would move its aquatic programs – including classes and swim squads – to Gardens Point.
The university gave a list of alternative local swimming holes to members, including Spring Hill Baths, Ithaca Pool, and Newmarket Pool.
Ithaca Pool in Paddington is currently closed for winter maintenance, and will reopen on August 24.
Queensland has the most private pools per person of any state, but the demand for public facilities remains high.
More than 758,000 residents participated in council’s $2 Summer Dips program from December 2025 to February 2026. Newmarket Pool was the most popular, with 92,081 visits.
The pool was quiet when this masthead visited this week, but parents there for their children’s swimming training said it was incredibly busy in summer.
Brad Shipway, who lives in the neighbourhood, also said that during summer, the pool gets extremely busy.
“We’ve found it’s usually better at the end of the day or in the morning. Around that lunchtime period, it can get pretty crazy,” he said.
“We’ve enjoyed using the Chermside one because of the slides and water park side of things there, but there probably could be a few more [pools], considering the weather in Brisbane.”
After Newmarket, the most popular facilities for Summer Dips were Sandgate, Musgrave Park, Yeronga, and Dunlop Park.
Private pools simply cannot replace the benefits of a public or community pool, Lawrence said.
“The home pool is fantastic, provided it’s looked after properly and kids are supervised around it,” he said.
“But it doesn’t replace the [option for] lower socioeconomic people who can’t afford to put in their own pool and pay for the chemicals, electricity, the uptake. It doesn’t serve those people.
“The community – or the council, or the government, or whoever – do have a duty of care to the rest of the community.”
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