First boy to sneak into Murray Bridge’s pool comes clean, 65 years later
David Allen remembers taking a swim in the Olympic pool before it officially opened in 1959.
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David Allen reckons he and his brother Lyal were the first two people to take a dip in Murray Bridge’s swimming pool.
The former local, who lived in the community from 1950 until the early 1970s, contacted Murray Bridge News this week to share his memories of the pool’s construction.
He recalled living on the corner of Adelaide Road and Charles Street, where a Shell service station now stood, across the road from the pool and Klingberg’s Bakery.
“My brother Lyal and I would go across the road and watch the diggers, bulldozers and trucks digging out the Murray Bridge pool, the cement trucks delivering cement; we played on huge the piles of dirt,” he said.
“Shortly before it was opened, they filled the three pools with water to test for leaks.
“I can remember going across the road to the full pools: it must have been a Sunday, as there were no workmen present; the water wasn’t filtered or clear; and it was warm day.
“We jumped in and swam in the middle-size pool in our clothes for quite a while, and had a great time.”
From 1969 until 1971, Mr Allen was a member of the Murray Bridge Amateur Swimming Club alongside the Van Dalen family, Liz Papple, Graeme Lucas and others.
They trained from 6-7am and 6-7pm every day from October to April, often freezing in the mornings.
“The torture in the morning was the smell of hot fresh bread and finger buns coming from Klingbiel’s Bakery, wafting across the pool with every breath we took,” he said.
“The club won two country championships during that period.
“(It was) a wonderful time of my life.”
Correction: The spelling of Peter Puczkowski’s name, and the name of the bakery, has been updated.
