Little Coogee

Take in Parramatta’s natural swimming pool of the 1880s up to the 1950s – Little Coogee.

Little Coogee, on the banks of the Parramatta River, was a swimming and picnic spot as far back as the 1880s. With change rooms for men and women on opposite banks of the river, and a life guard, it was a popular place to while away a sunny summer’s day.

The inaugural lifesaving carnival in Parramatta Park was held in this spot in 1912 by members of the Coogee Life Saving Club, which is how Little Coogee got its name. However, with pollution in the river and the opening of the Parramatta and District War Memorial Swimming Pool in 1959 right next to the Park its popularity faded.

Today, it’s a pleasant spot for a walk by the river- access it from Button’s Bridge.