Whether it’s a cool dip on a hot day or a lap of exercise, a good swim is an essential part of our health and wellbeing. The City of Sydney has 6 excellent aquatic centres for the community to enjoy. A swimming pool is a great way to get fit and also boosts the resale value of your property, so it is definitely worth considering adding one to your home.

The best pools are in close proximity to public transport and schools, so you can easily access them. There are also plenty of programs available to help you learn how to swim, from beginner classes to adult courses. This is a great option for those with limited time or for families with children.

Unlike high-impact pursuits such as running or jogging, which can cause problems with your joints later in life, swimming provides a low-impact workout for the whole body. It also allows you to exercise in a warm, sociable environment and makes it easy to maintain a healthy weight.

A swimming pool is a great investment for any home and is a feature that potential buyers look for when purchasing a new property. It also increases the resale value of your home and gives it a luxury feel. In addition to being an attractive asset, a swimming pool is great for the health of your family and can help reduce stress and anxiety.

North Sydney pool, a Rudder and Grout-designed landmark of interwar Australia, cemented the country’s swimming supremacy by hosting 80 world records in just over a decade from 1936. It was the pool where Dawn Fraser, Lorraine Crapp, Murray Rose and Ilsa Konrads honed their skills, and where the country’s first female Olympic champion, Norma Talbot, won gold at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.

Mosman’s shady, latticed Dawn Fraser Baths are a reminder of the suburb’s working-class heritage, and still feel decidedly original. A squat, corrugated iron and painted cream structure, it’s not as grand as Sydney’s modern pools, but is a relic of an era when swimming was a social activity.

Tink Baker, a former councillor for the Mosman area and a critic of the pool project’s scale, says it would be hard to overstate the cost blowouts, design flaws and heritage concerns that have marred its development. She says that while it’s expensive to operate, public pools are vitally important for the health of the city. She describes them as places that embody values of equality, diversity, and mateship. The Morning Edition newsletter is your guide to the day’s most important news, analysis and insights. Sign up here.