The early years
At the Annual Meeting of Householders in 1928, a recommendation was accepted that a school swimming pool be built. The committee was so enthusiastic that tenders were called straight away, and Messrs Keir & Thompson of Rangiora completed the work later that year.
The pool was built on the site of the original school on Parnassus St, an acre of land gifted by Mr Caverhill in 1876. The original school building was later moved from there.
The original concrete pool was 20 yards long and 8 yards wide (18.3 m × 7.3 m) with a depth of 6½ feet (2 m). It had a diving board, a change shed, toilets and a floodgate so the pool could be emptied and the water changed when needed. A shallow end was concreted in in 1986.
Improvements over the years included seating, a toddlers' pool, fencing, concreting, chlorine and equipment sheds, a filtration system, repainting, pool covers, a mural and a solar heating system.
For many years the pool was open through summer and run jointly by the school and the community swimming club. More recently the Waiau School Board of Trustees managed it, with a caretaker looking after day-to-day operation.
The start of something new
In November 2016 a large earthquake hit Waiau. It destroyed the change sheds and damaged the pool beyond repair.
Within weeks a national fundraising campaign was under way. Mufti days were held, fundraising auctions organised, and donations came in from all over New Zealand. A local committee formed to carry the project forward, and the Hurunui District Council, on behalf of the local community, signed a lease with the Ministry of Education so a new pool could be built on the main school site bordering Clarence Street.
With funding from the Rata Foundation, Lotteries and the Sutherland Trust, work began on clearing the site in July 2018. The new pool opened in February 2019.
