Pictures: J.L. “FRED” SMITH
A FOUNDATION member of the committee which built the Millicent Swimming Lake 50 years ago will be among the many hundreds expected to attend the golden jubilee celebrations tomorrow.
Retired Mount Burr farmer Rob Reeves is pleased Wattle Range Council is marking the 50th anniversary of the Millicent Swimming Lake opening with a family fun day.
The event will include water-based activities, as well as a range of stalls and interactive events.
It will be exactly 50 years to the day since then Premier Steele Hall officially opened the lake and ended up taking an unscheduled “dip” in the water.
It was built by a committee with the strong backing of the then District Council of Millicent as well as corporate support, community fundraising, donations and voluntary labour.
Now living at Beachport, Mr Reeves is believed to be the only surviving member of the original committee.
Speaking to The South Eastern Times, Mr Reeves explained the committee had its origins in the Millicent Apex Club.
Now in recess in Millicent, Apex was a service club for men with an age limit of 40.
“One night after Apex and after a few beers, John Pock, John Kenna, Bevon Turner and I talked about building a swimming lake like the one at Naracoorte,” Mr Reeves said.
“There had been a Millicent swimming pool committee but it had gone into recess as the costs of building a pool were too great.
“The funds which this committee, with a lot of hard work and community support, had raised had been put into a public trust fund organised by Millicent solicitor Gordon Hutchesson.
“Initially John and Jean Pocock, my wife Ann and I inspected the Naracoorte lake.
“The four Apexians then put up the building of a swimming lake in Millicent as a project of the Millicent Apex Club.”
Mr Reeves said the club viewed the lake project as too big to tackle as it had plenty of other community work to do.
“Millicent Mayor Gladys Smith was a great help and supported the project with much enthusiasm.
“The four of us, inspired by John Pocock, presented a model of the lake to Millicent District Council.
“After a few meetings with council, it agreed to back the project.
“A public meeting was held in St Alphonsus Hall and it was agreed to transfer the funds from the swimming pool public trust fund to the new swimming lake committee.
“The committee on that night was elected and was John Pocock (president), Rob Reeves (secretary), Dick Chantrill (treasurer), John Kenna, Bevon Turner, “Nobby” Clark and Gordon Hutchesson.
“There have been others but I cannot remember.
“A call for public donations was launched that night”
Mr Reeves recalled when a grazier – known for his frugality – agreed to donate $100 as he said he never had the opportunity to learn to swim.
Among the fundraising initiatives were a door-knock and a hike-a-thon to Beachport which raised $5000.
Mr Reeves said there was a large amount of voluntary labour at working bees over many weekends.
“The amount of community involvement was terrific with the planting of trees and lawns and erecting fences.
“Apcel Limited (now the Kimberly-Clark Australia Millicent Mill) came on board by donating chemicals.
“A draftsman from Apcel donated his time to draw up plans for the completion of the lake wall.
“Millicent GP Dr David Harris backed the health of the lake for swimmers.’
Mr Reeves acknowledged the efforts of earthmover Len Teagle and builders Ralph Zanello and Tony Buffon.
“The grand opening was a gala day with Max Warren as the master of ceremonies while John Pocock gave a rousing speech.
“John was the driving force behind the whole project.
“Some years later, the original committee retired and passed it over to Dawn Atkinson and a new committee.
“Eventually, the council took over management of the lake”.
In the years following 1969, Mr Reeves would regularly bring his family into Millicent from the farm for a swim.
When visiting the lake last week, Mr Reeves commended Wattle Range Council for maintaining the facility at a high standard and adding such improvements as shade sails.
