the local community promised Moyne Shire that no council money would be needed to operate it<\/a>.<\/p>\nIt ended up costing Moyne Shire more than $3 million over its lifetime.<\/p>\n
![\"Pool](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2c30230c8b152c5cec599139fd9999b2.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Photos taken for the independent assessor’s report detail the leak damage at the pool. (Supplied)<\/p>\n
Up to $6 million repair cost<\/p>\n
The council took control of the facility after its forced closure in November and commissioned an independent assessment of the facility’s condition.<\/p>\n
It found widespread and significant deterioration at the facility, including structural issues, a failing electrical network, and a major leak in the pool itself.<\/p>\n
The report said it would likely cost between $3.19 million and $5.92 million to do short-to-medium term repairs to the facility, but emphasised it could even cost more to get the pool up to operating standards.<\/p>\n
‘Financial madness’<\/p>\n
Deputy Mayor Myra Murrihy was emotional as she spoke of the “heavy decision”.<\/p>\n
![\"Pool](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/62d3de4816dfe621c532a2fe0601c765.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
The pool has significant structural issues, including to the building’s roof and framing. (Supplied)<\/p>\n
“Nobody becomes a councillor to demolish a loved community facility,” she told the meeting.<\/p>\n
She said she noticed children needing swimming lessons were now on waiting lists for nearby pools in Warrnambool, while elderly people were physically deteriorating due to a lack of activity.<\/p>\n
But Cr Murrihy said she was also upset about the poor behaviour directed at councillors and staff by upset community members, including “children being spat on”.<\/p>\n
“Abuse, intimidation, and personal attacks are not acceptable,” she said.<\/p>\n
“There is no conspiracy here, and this decision was not premeditated.”<\/p>\n
Councillor Susan Taylor said the council needed to consider the financial sustainability of the entire shire.<\/p>\n
“I cannot justify putting money towards a compromised facility,” she said.<\/p>\n
Mayor Jordan Lockett said he recognised the community’s desire to keep the pool, but said it would be “financial madness” to repair it.<\/p>\n
Community to push for new pool<\/p>\n
Council staff told the meeting there was no money budgeted for the pool demolition, so it would not be progressed for at least a few months.<\/p>\n
The council was working on an aquatics facilities strategy, with a draft document highlighting the need for the shire to have a year-round indoor pool as part of its long-term service offering.<\/p>\n
That draft strategy said Port Fairy was considered the most viable location due to its population density, tourism visitation, and proximity to other towns.<\/p>\n
![\"Blue](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/fe3257aa133497f8d5ce9e7284d96a11.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
A community group in Port Fairy pushed for the council to reopen the indoor pool in the town. (ABC News: Daniel Miles)<\/p>\n
Port Fairy Pool Community Group spokesperson Louise Abicare said the community wanted to work with the council to get a new pool in the town.<\/p>\n
“We knew it was going to be damning. We knew the reports were going to say it should be shut down and dismantled,” she said.<\/p>\n
She condemned the abuse directed at councillors, and said it reflected behaviour from a small minority of locals.<\/p>\n
Killarney resident Nieka Geekie was among those living nearby whose children regularly used the pool.<\/p>\n
She said the community would keep pushing for a facility.<\/p>\n
“I don’t think it’s going to end \u2026 I think it’s the sort of community that will pivot. The community will still advocate for a pool.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A regional Victorian town will lose its beleaguered community pool after councillors decided to demolish the facility due…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18750,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[22,21,18458,18456,18460,18459,18115,18457,18461],"class_list":["post-18749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-austrlia","tag-belfast-aquatics","tag-community-pool","tag-demolision","tag-moyne-shire-council","tag-pool","tag-port-fairy","tag-swimming"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18749\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}