Women's Pool

The tide is going out but a rogue wave crashes over the pool wall and over me, and I gasp as the colder water foams like seltzer on my skin.-Stephanie WoodThe history of McIver''s Ladies Baths in Coogee ? affectionately know as the Women''s Pool ? is eloquently told in these stories by women who have found friendship, sanctuary and simple pleasure as they have gathered and swum there.Humorous tales of encounters at the pool sit alongside stories of sorrow and regret. There are recollections of the famed 'Thursday Married Ladies Club'' and accounts of delight at the natural beauty, safety and freedom that Australia''s only ocean pool reserved for women offers. In this anthology, writers from diverse cultures reveal the role that the Women''s Pool has played in their lives. From the '365ers'' who brave the elements all year round to the women who seek summer sun on the rocks, a picture emerges of a space for women to be themselves.The ancient seasonal cycles find their own rhythm at our pool, at our place of 'women''s business''. In the vastness of the largest Continent on Earth, it is a tiny space of companionship if wanted, or solitude if needed.-Mary Goslett