Tobruk Memorial Baths
| Tobruk Memorial Baths | |
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Entrance to the Tobruk Memorial Baths, 2010
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| Location | The Strand, Townsville, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 19°15′12″S 146°49′11″E / 19.2533°S 146.8198°ECoordinates: 19°15′12″S 146°49′11″E / 19.2533°S 146.8198°E |
| Design period | 1939–1945 (World War II) |
| Built | 1941–1950 |
| Official name: Tobruk Memorial Baths | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 13 January 1995 |
| Reference no. | 601575 |
| Significant period | 1940s (fabric) 1950-ongoing (social) |
| Significant components | residential accommodation – manager's house/quarters, changing rooms/dressing shed, trees/plantings, memorial – swimming pool, memorial – plaque |
| Builders | Townsville City Council |
 Location of Tobruk Memorial Baths in Queensland
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The Tobruk Memorial Baths is a heritage-listed complex of outdoor swimming pools on The Strand, Townsville CBD, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1941 to 1950 by Townsville City Council as a World War II memorial. The baths were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 13 January 1995.
The Tobruk Memorial Baths features a 50-metre Olympic-size swimming pool, a 25-metre heated pool used for children's swimming, lessons and physiotherapy and a toddlers pool. There is an on-site kiosk. The facade is a vibrant blue-and-white art deco design.
Tobruk Memorial Baths were commenced in 1941 and completed in 1950. An initiative of the Townsville City Council, the baths were intended initially simply as a civic amenity, to replace older city baths. In December 1941, however, the Council decided to name the baths in honour of the Australian servicemen who had taken part in the Siege of Tobruk (Tubruq).
Tobruk Memorial Baths were erected on a site associated with sea bathing since at least the 1870s. The first European settlement at Townsville was concentrated in the area of Flinders Street East and The Strand, and The Strand and Cleveland Bay foreshore developed as one of the earliest recreation venues in Townsville. As early as 1866, Townsville's more affluent residents were constructing homes along the beachfront, and by 1872, three hotels had been erected opposite the present Anzac Memorial Park. The Strand was unformed at this time, being little more than a track along the foreshore, and there were no shade trees, but the beach was popular with bathers (mainly male) from at least the late 1870s.
In 1881 the town council planted 30 cedar trees along the foreshore, and added cocoa and betel nut trees in early 1882. In 1883, following strong public demand, a road was made along the beach front to Kissing Point. By 1889, The Strand, between King Street and Kissing Point, made a glorious promenade on a moonlight night when the breeze blows straight and cool from Magnetic Island, and a temporary reserve for public baths (R.182) adjacent to the present Anzac Memorial Park and opposite a quarry was gazetted in February that year. This reserve comprised an area of nearly 7 acres, extending from low water mark to a little above high water mark, on which the Townsville Municipal Council spent approximately £1,000 in erecting sea baths. Part of this reserve was occupied later by the Tobruk Memorial Baths.
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