Fonty's Pool, Manjimup

Physical Description

· Fonty’s Pool is a very large lake with cement sides;
· The surrounding landscaped garden and trees provide a beautiful
setting for the pool;
· The pool is situated at the base of the slope on which the
Fontanini’s house is built, and;
· The house is a typical Inter-War bungalow with federation
influences.

History

These notes have been derived from historical notes prepared by
Graeme Olsen November 2001
http://www.southwestlife.com.au/history1101.htm
“Archimede Fontanini arrived in Australia in 1904 with 12/6d ($1.25) to
his name. After he died in 1982 he left behind a famous local landmark of
significant historical value.
Archie was born in Italy in 1880 and after working in France for a few
years he enlisted in the Italian army to do his mandatory three year
service and volunteered to serve in China during the Boxer Rebellion. He
was discharged at the ripe old age of 24, and decided to see more of the
world, which led him to Fremantle. After working at the Timber
Corporation Sawmill at Greenbushes for three years, Archie decided he'd
like to have a go at farming. At that time the Government was
encouraging people to develop land in the south west, so Archie went and
had a look at some of the places available. After checking out a few,
Archie settled on a particular area that had a stream flowing strongly
through it, even in summer. He was granted the land in 1907 and he set
about clearing and developing it, which was no easy task. At that time
Manjimup didn't exist, so purchasing supplies meant a three day horse
and cart journey to Bridgetown. In winter the track to Bridgetown was
almost impassable.
Archie married his wife Lucy in 1909 and they had 5 children. After
several years of developing the land, Archie built a dam across the stream
with a log and earth, hoping that the silt in the stream would settle and
make the land more fertile when the wall was later removed. He taught
his children to swim in the new dam, and they became very popular at
school because they had a swimming pool. It soon became a regular
event to have many children and even adults visiting to have a swim.
When Archie decided it was time to drain the dam and start growing
vegetables again, he was surprised to find resistance from many people in
town. A committee was actually formed to convince Archie to not only
keep the dam, but to charge an entry fee to maintain it. Such was the
demand for a public swimming pool amongst the now expanding
population of Manjimup. Archie agreed to the proposal, cemented his
dam and developed the gardens. "Fonty's Pool" was born, and officially
opened in 1925. It soon became one of the well known beauty spots of
the south west.
Archie continued to maintain the pool and gardens well into his old age.
But at 93 years of age, when it became too difficult, Fonty's Pool had to
close. In 1979, however, the pool was reopened with a "Back To Fonty's
Pool" weekend which combined with the Australia Day Log Chops and
Swimming Carnival, and was attended by 12,000 people. Archie was
there to see his pool reopened. He died 3 years later. Fonty's Pool holds
18 million litres of fresh spring water and covers nearly one acre. It is
cleaned at the rate of 44,000 litres per hour through two outlets. With its
beautiful surrounding gardens, it has become a favourite swimming spot
for thousands of people.”

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: Very High
Authenticity: Very High

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

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