Almost a century ago Neil Kennett tended to his Friesian cows from a red shed on Brickyard Road, Port Elliot. Today, a kilometre around the corner his great grandson Scott is the construction manager on the Fleurieu Regional Aquatic Centre.
The link may seem like a very small piece in a giant jigsaw puzzle that was first talked about almost 40 years ago, but it fits so nicely into a wonderful story of how developers, politicians, councils and communities have come together to present us with something special.
Brush aside much of the needless negativity that has at times consumed the final picture and we see not one pool, but three in a state-of-the-art $21 million complex featuring architectural splendour and constructional technical genius that will serve all sections of our community.
And it is the Kennett family’s unbroken strong connection to the region for nearly 100 years, which now includes Scott and its Kennett Pty Ltd, a proud South Australian company, that has added enormous personal touch to this project.
Most days Scott drives past a red fence that remains visible on the old farm and appreciates the reminder that this pool, due to be completed in January and officially opened in March, is a humbling experience because of the incredible contribution of so many for all future generations to enjoy.
“It has been a truly wonderful experience for me personally because of our family’s long-term connection from Goolwa to Victor Harbor,” Scott said.
“And I can honestly say that I have never worked on a project that includes such a huge amount of community involvement and without the problem of ego.
“The input by the teams – the two councils and the consultants – is really positive, and normally in this situation you have someone who likes to stamp their authority on the project.
“There is no ego here, which is unique to me; everyone has enjoyed working collaboratively.”
It is a special pool project, to say the least, and according to Scott one that goes beyond the norm because the main 25-metre pool will have one set temperature, and the toddlers’ pool in the same area another. The third, a much-needed hydrotherapy or rehabilitation pool, has a different temperature again to cater for its specific needs.
“This construction has required a lot of incredibly complex coordination with the services from all of your chlorination systems to filtration,” Scott said. “With the main pool area there needs to be a certain amount of air tightness to the pool area to maintain a set temperature.
“You have to monitor every connection to make sure it is all sealed. It requires a lot of attention… you have to make sure everything is perfect before you bring in the next trade.”
The construction workers have certainly faced their challenges.
They started six weeks late because of incredibly bad weather, but the project is on schedule and running to budget. When they started digging to create the main pool they were confronted by water table and level issues… water was coming up from underground, which brought its sense of amusement.
There have been an average 100 workers on this project every day – more than 1000 contractors overall with at least 40 per cent from within the region – and when the landscaping work begins next month this will increase.
Site supervisor Greg Chambers believes our pool will be special because of the different finishes on the building. “That’s what is going to make this a stand-out project,” he says.
Scott says aArchitecturally it will be a very nice looking building. “It won’t look industrial or be just a large shed or box; it is going to have glass, the rammed earth is going to be a great feature, the timbers are great,” he said. “The quality control is exceptional.”
Adding to the overwhelming need of the project will be an adjoining independent support-living facility and a health care centre that will provide general practitioners and allied health services like physiotherapy, podiatry and medial massage.
But as much as Scott and Greg see this overall project as one of Kennett Pty Ltd’s gems in its impressive state-wide contribution, they relate so much of the FRAC’s resounding success to the groups who have made it all possible – the big pieces in this puzzle.
It starts with talk of a swimming pool in the region almost 40 years ago, and revived on the front porch of Steve and Marg Wright’s house at Port Elliot in 1996. With sons Adam and Bruce, they are the developers behind the nationally award-winning Beyond Today project with its sustainable living that features 47 per cent of the 90 hectares dedicated to landscaped reserves, parks and wetlands. It is amazing, to say the least.
“We knew a swimming pool had been an issue with the community for many years, and we indicated to Alexander Downer, who was the then Member for Mayo, that we were the boundary between the two councils and if we could get them working together it would be great to get this pool up and running,” Adam said.
“The land was never going to be residential; it was always going to be community based. When the pool idea went cold we considered another option. We thought higher education was important – keeping our young demographic here – so we spoke to the University of South Australia about developing a sustainability or environment hub or something along those lines, but they had a 15-year plan. We wanted to achieve things right then.
“Our second goal was a health and well being precinct because we were out-growing our resources down here, and we thought it was important to bring more services to the region.”
Ultimately, after talks over the years by former mayors Kym McHugh (Alexandrina) and Mary-Lou Corcoran (Victor Harbor), incredible devotion by current council administration staff and today’s mayors, Keith Parkes and Graham Philp, plus the Wright family’s handing over the land on the cnr of Ocean and Waterport roads on the council boundary line for $1, the pool is a reality. If the Wright family put housing on this property it could have fetched $4.5 million. We said it was amazing.
The project has been made possible by $6.5m from each council, $7.5m in federal government funding, and $0.5m from the state government.
And if we thought this was unbelieveable cooperation to achieve something special for the region, the Alexandrina and Victor Harbor councils won two state and national awards for State Local Government Professional Excellence, and Community Partnership and Collaboration. Yes, our councils.
The councils own the Fleurieu Regional Aquatic Centre Authority, chaired by David Cooke, which will soon own and operate the facility on their behalf.
Now, imagine for one moment there was an element of ego that Scott was talking about, and if the make-believe border patrols we have joked about since Neil Kennett milked his cows with barbed-wire fencing separating Goolwa from Victor Harbor – an idea pinched by Donald Trump to keep the Mexicans out – was all happening.
We live in a great place, don’t we? And give the Wrights and the Kennetts a free family pass into the aquatic centre. Enjoy.
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