Mount Emily Swimming Pool

Mount Emily Swimming Pool was the first public pool in Singapore,¹ and was located along Upper Wilkie Road, where Mount Emily Park stands today.² The pool, which was converted from a municipal reservoir, was opened to the public on 10 January 1931.³

It proved to be an extremely popular recreational venue, with visitor numbers hitting a record high of 8,000 a month during the mid-1930s. There were scheduled daily bathing periods of varying durations to ensure fair access to all members of the public.⁴ Chlorination and filtration, together with a continuous input of fresh water, was used to keep the pool water clean and clear.⁵

History
Mount Emily Swimming Pool was a municipal reservoir before the decision was made by the Singapore Municipal Commissioners on 11 September 1929 for it to be converted into a fresh water public pool.⁶ It was one of the two service reservoirs, constructed in 1878 at Mount Emily to supply the town with fresh water. In 1929, when a larger storage reservoir at Fort Canning was opened, the two reservoirs were adapted for other uses. One became a swimming pool, while the other was retained to store used pool water for town cleansing and drain flushing.⁷

To convert the reservoir tank into a pool, its depth had to be reduced from the original 15 ft to 8 ft (from 4.5 m to 2.4 m), and its floor had to be graded from one end. Earth was used to fill the tank to the required depth, and concrete was then poured over it to form the pool floor. A vertical wall was also built round the sloping sidewalls of the tank. The wall was perforated to allow water to pass through, thereby throwing the weight of the water onto the original boundary walls of the tank.⁸

Opened on 10 January 1931,⁹ the swimming pool was managed by the Singapore Municipal Commissioners until the Japanese Occupation (1942–45). When the war ended, the pool was used by Indian servicemen in the British military before it was de-requisitioned, and handed back to the municipal commissioners on 1 August 1946. The pool was then closed for maintenance and repairs.¹⁰ It opened in early 1948 for a brief period before it was shut again owing to an outbreak of polio in the middle of the year.¹¹ During the closure, a new filtration plant was installed and the facilities reopened on 1 December 1949 to a long queue of bathers eager for a dip.¹²

At the end of the financial year 1981/1982, Mount Emily was one of 14 swimming complexes managed by the Singapore Sports Council. It accounted for only 0.4 percent of the total attendance of close to 3.9 million at all public swimming pools.¹³ Due to poor visitorship, the pool was closed in December 1981. It was eventually demolished, and the site converted into a park.¹⁴

Description
The Mount Emily Swimming Pool had a system of inlet and outlet pipes that was built to ensure a continuous flow of fresh water from the town mains. Used pool water would then flow into the unconverted reservoir nearby to be used for street washing and drain flushing. This was considered more economical than emptying and refilling the pool periodically. When fresh water supply needed to be conserved, seawater from Johnston's Pier (which also supplied the water for the Young Men's Christian Association's seawater pool) would be pumped in.¹⁵

The pool had two sections that were divided by a concrete wall. The shallow end for beginners was 90 ft by 60 ft wide (27 m by 18 m), and its gradient was increased from 2 ft 9 in to 5 ft 9 in (from 0.8 m to 1.75 m). The deep end was 164 ft by 40 ft wide (50 m by 12 m) and had a depth of 8 ft (2.4 m). At the deep end of the pool was a three-board diving stage.¹⁶

When the pool first opened, its amenities included 20 cubicles and six showers, with an additional 30 cubicles, two showers and a shelter in the pipeline.¹⁷ The pool's first superintendent was John Imm¹⁸ and among its first lifeguards were Lee Hon Ming and Yeo Jui Hua.¹⁹

Pool usage
Being the first public pool in Singapore, Mount Emily was an extremely popular venue. It could accommodate between 250  and 300 swimmers at any one time.²⁰ In the mid-1930s, the number of bathers reached a record high of 8,000 a month.²¹ The pool was used mainly by the local population, and according to pool staff, 30 percent of its users were of the coolie class.²² The pool also served as a training venue for competitive swimmers.²³

In the 1930s, admission charges to the pool ranged between 10 and 20 cents. There were periods of free admission for schoolchildren each week, which were well utilised as these children had no access to private pools. There were four bathing periods of between one and two hours daily. Initially, mixed bathing was disallowed, and male (men and boys) and female (women and girls) bathers could swim only during specific bathing periods on designated days of the week. Over the years, mixed bathing was gradually permitted, and the number and duration of bathing periods were also revised to maximise public access to the pool.²⁴ Other than the public, schools and associations also used the pool for swimming lessons and water sports events.²⁵ In September 1951, schoolchildren got to swim for free for a week as part of City Day celebrations.²⁶

In 1951, an estimated 150,000 swimmers used the facility.²⁷ In the 1970s, it remained one of the most popular pools, along with the Farrer Park, River Valley, Queenstown and Yan Kit swimming pools. Long queues would form before the pool opened, and as many as 300 people could be turned away during the school holidays.²⁸

Pool maintenance
Despite its immense popularity, the hygiene of the pool water was a concern for its operators as well as visitors. In February 1939, a pool user wrote to the editor of The Straits Times newspaper complaining of red patches on his face after having swum in the pool; it was the sixth time that he was afflicted with the problem. The editor replied that the water had been purified by chlorination, and that water samples were tested by the municipal bacteriologist every week. In addition, the water was turned over every four hours.²⁹ The pool was also closed periodically for maintenance.³⁰

During the Japanese Occupation, the Japanese used seawater instead of fresh water for the pool. After the war, the British military continued to use seawater until the pool was de-requisitioned and handed back to the Singapore Municipal Commissioners in 1946. By then, the purification plant had deteriorated and was in urgent need of repair. The pool was then closed for maintenance and repairs, and opened in early 1948. Due to a polio outbreak in mid-1948, the pool was closed once again.³¹ During the closure, the pool was finally fitted with a new filtration plant and re-opened in December 1949.³²

Filtration kept the water crystal clear, while chlorination purified it, and kept it clean. The municipal chemist analysed the pool water after every bathing period to determine when the water needed to be changed. In addition, strict measures were adopted to maintain hygiene standards by redesigning the route from the entrance of the swimming complex to the pool to ensure that no one entered the pool without a shower, and by leading bathers directly to the dressing rooms and through the showers before reaching the pool. Bathers who were not suitably dressed or appeared to have skin conditions were also turned away at the entrance.³³

Misadventures
Throughout the years that Mount Emily pool was in use, there were occasional reports of drowning or other death incidents.³⁴ Besides drowning, a common accident was that of bathers jumping off the diving platform and hitting their heads against the pool's concrete floor.³⁵



Author
Irene Lim



References
1. E. Kay Gillis and Kevin Tan, The Book of Singapore's Firsts (Singapore: Singapore Heritage Society, 2006), 169 (Call no. RSING 959.57 GIL-[HIS]); Norman Edwards and Peter Keys, Singapore: A Guide to Buildings, Streets, Places (Singapore: Times Books International, 1988), 24. (Call no. RSING 915.957 EDW-[TRA])
2. Edwards and Keys, Singapore: A Guide to Buildings, Streets, Places, 224.
3. “A Big Splash: Opening of Mount Emily Swimming Pool,” Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1884–1942), 31 January 1931, 20; “Opening of Mount Emily Swimming Pool,” Malayan Saturday Post, 31 January 1931, 13; “Mount Emily: Official Opening of Public Swimming Bath,” Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1884–1942), 1 January 1931, 20. (From NewspaperSG)
4. “Singapore Municipal Swimming Pool Scenes,” Straits Times, 8 July 1935, 20; “Mount Emily Pool Re-Opened,” Straits Times, 2 December 1949, 12; Mount Emily: Cleaning Municipal Swimming Pool,” Straits Times, 15 February 1939, 15. (From NewspaperSG)
5. “New Public Park: Future of Mount Emily Reservoir: Proposed Swimming Pool,” Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1884–1942), 17 September 1929, 9; “More Amenities for Singapore,” Straits Times, 23 April 1930, 12; “Swimming Pool at Mount Emily,” Straits Times, 9 January 1931, 15; “Mount Emily Pool Plans,” Straits Times, 25 February 1949, 5; “Mount Emily Work To Begin,” Singapore Free Press, 2 April 1949, 9; “Mount Emily Pool Opens Again,” Straits Times, 2 December 1949, 8. (From NewspaperSG)
6. “Municipal Affairs: Swimming Bath at Mount Emily,” Straits Times, 16 September 1929, 12; “More Amenities for Singapore.”
7. “New Reservoir Opened,” Straits Times, 7 February 1929, 10 (From NewspaperSG); “Swimming Pool at Mount Emily”; “New Public Park: Future of Mount Emily Reservoir: Proposed Swimming Pool”; Walter Makepeace, Gilbert E. Brooke and Ronald St. J Braddell, ed., One Hundred Years of Singapore, vol. 1 (Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1991), 328. (Call no. RSING 959.57 ONE-[HIS])
8. “Swimming Pool at Mount Emily.”
9. “A Big Splash: Opening of Mount Emily Swimming Pool”; “Opening of Mount Emily Swimming Pool”; “Mount Emily: Official Opening of Public Swimming Bath”; “New Swimming Pool: Official Opening of Mount Emily,” Straits Times, 2 January 1931, 13. (From NewspaperSG)
10. “Mount Emily Pools Is De-Requisitioned,” Straits Times, 2 August 1946, 5. (From NewspaperSG)
11. “Mount Emily To Re-Open on Feb 1,” Singapore Free Press, 20 December 1947, 5; “Mount Emily Pool Closure,” Singapore Free Press, 26 October 1948, 6 (From NewspaperSG); “Mount Emily Pool Plans”; “Singapore Municipality: Mount Emily Swimming Pool,” Straits Times, 6 March 1948, 2; “Singapore Municipality: Mount Emily Swimming Pool,” Straits Times, 2 April 1948, 2; “Singapore Police Rushed to Mount Emily Swimming Pool,” Straits Times, 5 December 1949, 5. (From NewspaperSG)
12. “Mount Emily Work To Begin”; “Mount Emily Pool Opens Again”; “Mount Emily Pool Re-Opened”; They All Wanted a Swim...,” Straits Times,5 December 1949, 5. (From NewspaperSG)
13. Singapore Sports Council, Annual Report, 81/82 (Singapore: The Council, 1982), 38. (Call no. RCLOS 354.5957093 SSCAR-[AR])
14. Ang Peng Hwa, “Swimming Pool To Be Demolished,” Singapore Monitor, 23 June 1983, 6 (From NewspaperSG); Lai Chee Keong, “A Historical Sketch of the Mount Emily Area,” Singapore Architect no. 243 (2008): 64–71. (Call no. RSING 720.5 SA)
15. “More Amenities for Singapore.”  
16. “Swimming Pool at Mount Emily”; “A Big Splash: Opening of Mount Emily Swimming Pool.”
17. “Swimming Pool at Mount Emily.”
18. “Bathing Fatality at Mount Emily,” Straits Times, 10 February 1931, 12; “Swimming Pool at Mount Emily”; “Mount Emily: Official Opening of Public Swimming Bath”; “New Swimming Pool: Official Opening of Mount Emily.”
19. Singapore Life Guard Corps, 40 Years of Lifeguarding: 1950–1990 (Singapore: Singapore Life Guard Corps, 1990), 8 (Call no. RSING 797.200289 FOR); “Bathing Fatality at Mount Emily”; “Opening of Mount Emily Swimming Pool”; “Mystery of Swimming Pool Tragedy,” Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1884–1942), 10 February 1931, 10 (From NewspaperSG);
20. “Mixed Bathing: Two Hours on Sunday at Mount Emily,” Straits Times, 12 July 1932, 18 (From NewspaperSG); “Mount Emily Pool Opens Again”; “Singapore Police Rushed to Mount Emily Swimming Pool.”

21. “Singapore Municipal Swimming Pool Scenes,” Straits Times, 8 July 1935, 20. (From NewspaperSG)
22. “Mixed Bathing,” Straits Times, 10 March 1934, 18; “Bathing Fatality at Mount Emily.”
23. “Colony Cavalcade: A Popular Pool,” Straits Times, 3 November 1935, 2. (From NewspaperSG)
24. “The Only Pool With ‘Women Only’ Days,” New Nation, 15 March 1979, 4; “Modesty Won’t Help Emily,” New Nation, 17 March 1979, 8. (From NewspaperSG)
25. Tan Tock Saik, “Record Numbers Come for Training,” Singapore Free Press, 25 July 1950, 6; “Laycock Cup for Boys’ Club,” Straits Times, 17 February 1950, 12; “Boys Clubs Swim Meet Today,” Straits Times, 14 April 1951, 11; “Rivalry Should Be Very Keen,” Singapore Free Press, 29 March 1952, 7. (From NewspaperSG)
26. “Free Swimming for a Week,” Straits Times, 1 September 1951, 5. (From NewspaperSG)
27. “New Swimming Pool Plan,” Singapore Free Press, 30 August 1952, 5. (From NewspaperSG)
28. Juliet David, “Getting All Heated Up in the Long Futile Wait to Cool Off,” Straits Times, 26 June 1972, 21. (From NewspaperSG)
29. “Mount Emily: Cleaning Municipal Swimming Pool,” Straits Times, 16 February 1939, 15. (From NewspaperSG)
30. “Notice: Mount Emily Swimming Pool,” Straits Times, 1 April 1931, 9; “Singapore Municipality: Mt. Emily Swimming Pool,” Straits Times, 25 April 1936, 2. (From NewspaperSG)
31. “Mount Emily Pool Plans”; “Singapore Police Rushed to Mount Emily Swimming Pool.”
32. “Mount Emily Pool Re-Opened.”
33. “Mount Emily Pool Plans”; “Mount Emily Work To Begin”; “Mt Emily Pool Open Soon,” Singapore Free Press, 24 November 1949, 17; “Mount Emily Pool Opens Again.”
34. “112,000 Paid $13,000 To Escape Heat,” Straits Times, 24 August 1950, 7; “Lifeguards Were Busy: 35 ‘Rescues’,” Singapore Free Press, 2 October 1951, 5; “Swimming Pool Tragedy: Young Chinese Drowned at Mount Emily,” Singapore Free Press, 26 January 1931, 10; “Swim Girl Drowned,” Straits Times, 13 August 1952, 1; “Vain Bid To Save Boy’s Life,” Straits Times, 28 November 1960, 4. (From NewspaperSG)
35. “Diver Hurt at Mt. Emily Pool,” Straits Times, 30 May 1950, 4. (From NewspaperSG)



Further resources
Geoffrey Boland, “Mount Emily Pool,” Singapore Free Press, 22 February 1950, 4. (From NewspaperSG)

“Mount Emily and Singapore River,” Straits Times, 21 April 1947, 4. (From NewspaperSG)

“Singapore’s Tots Have Their Own Pool Now,” Singapore Free Press, 31 May 1951, 5. (From NewspaperSG)

“Singapore’s Water Consumption,” Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1884–1942), 29 July 1932, 7. (From NewspaperSG)



The information in this article is valid as at 2009 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.