Harold Holt swimming pool, Melbourne: Why is it named after a drowned Prime Minister?

Former Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt went missing, presumed drowned, off Cheviot Beach on the Mornington Peninsula in December 1967. The Harold Holt Swim Centre in Glen Iris, Melbourne, was named in his honour. This was because he was the local MP and Holt went missing while it was under construction.

What is the Harold Holt swimming pool?

The Harold Holt swimming pool is a public pool in the Melbourne suburb of Glen Iris. It is named in honour of former Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt. The story behind that name is rather interesting, however.

How the Harold Holt swimming pool got its name.

In the pretty anonymous southern Melbourne suburb of Glen Iris is home to a brutalist 1960s leisure centre. That would not be worthy of note if it wasn’t for the name of this leisure centre. The Harold Holt Swim Centre is named in honour of former Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt.

That would be quite touching if Harold Holt hadn’t disappeared off Cheviot Beach on Victoria‘s Mornington Peninsula, presumed drowned.

Cheviot Beach on the Mornington Peninsula

The Mornington Peninsula has long been a playground for wealthy Melburnians and daytrippers. These days, visitors might take in wineries such as the Dromana Estate, bathe at the Peninsula Hot Springs, go snorkelling with weedy sea dragons near the Portsea Hotel in Portsea or swim with seals from Sorrento.

In the 1960s, as now, Melburnians would flock to the Mornington Peninsula for a weekend at the beach. Cheviot Beach at Point Nepean on the far end of the Peninsula was not one of those beaches, however.

Point Nepean beaches — The beaches of Point Nepean are not the safest swimming beaches in Australia… Photo by David Whitley/ Australia Travel Questions

Now, the beach is part of Point Nepean National Park. But, in 1967, Point Nepean was military land. Known as Victoria’s Gibraltar, Point Nepean is supposedly where the first Allied shot of World War II was fired.

The only people who could use Cheviot Beach had special clearance to be there. However, there are some perks to being Commander-in-Chief. Holt pulled rank to get a nice spot to himself.

Nowadays, Cheviot Beach is not quite so exclusive. Visitors to the park can walk or cycle to the small Holt memorial that looks out above the crashing waves.

Harold Holt disappears at Cheviot Beach

Harold Holt had a holiday home at Portsea, and on December 17^th, 1967, decided to go for a swim at Cheviot Beach. He never re-emerged from the water. This led to one of the biggest searches in Australia’s history, and plenty of conspiracy theories. Did Holt commit suicide? Did a Chinese spy submarine capture him?

The Mornington Peninsula does have some lovely, tranquil beaches looking out onto Port Philip Bay, but Cheviot Beach is definitely not one of them. Even when the wind is down, the Bass Strait crashes against the rocks and surges up little inlets.

Cheviot Beach is undeniably beautiful in a rugged way, but you don’t need the ghost of a Prime Minister hanging around to warn that it’s not the world’s safest swimming spot. Quite where a Chinese sub could park itself is difficult to fathom. The strong currents seem by far the most likely culprit, even though Holt was regarded as a strong swimmer.

Naming the Harold Holt Swim Centre

When Holt disappeared, construction was underway in Glen Iris for the new leisure centre. It was due to be called the City of Malvern Olympic Swimming Centre.

But Harold Holt was the local MP. So, it was decided by the local authority to pay tribute to Holt after his tragic disappearance. Whether naming a swimming pool after someone who supposedly drowned is an appropriate tribute is a different matter. But the Harold Holt Swim Centre stands in honour of the Prime Minister who went missing at Cheviot Beach.