Information
The Mowbray Park baths were constructed by the South Brisbane City Council and opened in January 1920. In-river bathing areas, surrounded by fences in the river for safety, were popular during this period and several of them lined the banks of the Brisbane River. Over the years the Mowbray Park baths were the scene of many swimming carnivals. The baths were closed and then demolished in 1941 after years of occasional flood damage, vandalism, and worsening river pollution. The safety of the fencing was also questionable, especially after individual sharks measuring between one to two metres were reported inside the enclosure on two different occasions in January 1927.
Citations
Brisbane Courier, 26 January 1920, 12 January 1927, 24 January 1927; Courier-Mail, 24 February 1941.
Image Citations
Mowbray Park Swimming Baths, c.1930. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Record number: 137642.
Map References
QSA. QSA Series ID 2043 City of Brisbane and Suburbs Maps – A1A Series. 20 chains to the inch. Brisbane and suburbs street and road map showing railway lines and tramway routes, with radial lines at one mile intervals from the GPO. 20 chains to the inch.. 634570