The Ngukurr pool opened in late 2023. (Supplied: Shaun Harris/Remote Pools Project)
In short:
The remote NT community of Wurrumiyanga has gone four years without a pool, leaving locals to swim in waterways inhabited by crocodiles and deadly jellyfish.
The local council says even if it can stump up the funds to build a new facility, the cost of keeping a pool open long-term is the biggest struggle.
What's next?
The Tiwi Islands council has commissioned a master plan to be completed by February in the hopes of attracting funding from government and private investors.
On a Friday afternoon in Ngukurr on the banks of southern Arnhem Land's Roper River, the local pool is full of children and families enjoying some reprieve from the stifling heat.
"It's a place for people to come and enjoy themselves and just have fun with other families and kids," local lifeguard Patrick Gorden-Richards says.
Ngukurr is one of seven communities working alongside the Y NT as part of the Remote Pools Project, which helps communities operate their local pool.
Emma Bunting, chief executive of the Y NT, said local pools can be more than a place to cool down for those living in remote areas.
Ngukurr children are now delighted to have their community pool reopened. (Supplied: Roper Gulf Regional Council)
“It's a place of connection, it's a place to come and gather,” she said.
“It's also a great classroom for learning how to swim which is really important because in a lot of these communities, the pool is the safest place to swim."
Patrick Gorden-Richards is a lifeguard at Ngukurr pool. (Supplied)
As well as helping locals beat the heat, Mr Gorden-Richards says the project has given him an opportunity to learn new skills.
"Getting traditional people, community members to work themselves up to maybe be the boss of this pool, that's what we're trying to do," he says.
But not all remote communities are so lucky, and residents in Wurrumiyanga still have nowhere to swim outside waterways home to deadly saltwater crocodiles and box jellyfish.
Originally constructed in 2007, Wurrumiyanga's public pool was a part of everyday life for the 2,000 people living in the Tiwi Islands community, especially as the Top End swelters through the hottest part of the year.
But worsening cracks and leaks in the pool's concrete foundations caused maintenance costs to quadruple, forcing the local council to close the facility in 2020.
Wadeye pool also closed for five years due to safety and maintenance concerns, before reopening in November 2023. (ABC News: Hamish Harty)
Pools the 'lifeblood' of remote communities
The critical importance of a local pool for community safety was tragically hammered home this year when a 12-year-old girl was killed by a saltwater crocodile while swimming in a river near the Arnhem Land community of Palumpa.
Tiwi Islands Mayor Lynette De Santis said a "no school, no pool" policy also helped keep kids out of trouble, before the Wurrumiyanga pool closed four years ago.
"All the kids used to go to school to go to the pool and now with no pool, kids are not going to school like they used to," she said.
"We don't want our children getting taken by crocs or bitten by sharks or stung by jellyfish."
Wurrumiyanga's waters are inhabited by saltwater crocodiles and box jellyfish. (ABC News: Chelsea Heaney)
Research conducted by Royal Life Saving Australia (RLSA) has shown Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are almost twice as likely to drown than non-Aboriginal people.
Pools begin to reopen in NT remote communities
Photo shows A young Indigenous child wrapped in a towel sitting cross-legged on grass.
And the NT has the second highest rate of Aboriginal drowning deaths in Australia, which mostly occur in remote or very remote areas, in rivers or creeks.
RLSA chief executive Justin Scarr says the benefits of pools in remote communities are far-reaching.
"Pools are really the lifeblood of those communities," he says.
"They're really important for children for swimming and water safety, they're important for adults for health and recreation.
"The health benefits extend to children to the extent of physical activity but also to oral and aural health."
The chlorinated water in pools can reduce skin infections. (Supplied: Shaun Harris/Remote Pools Project)
One-off cash splashes not enough
While the case for remote pools may be compelling, the costs associated with building and maintaining them are a significant barrier, especially in the NT where the financial burden of running a community pool rests with local councils.
Local Government Association of the NT (LGANT) chief executive Mary Watson said government funding for local councils to maintain significant infrastructure like pools was not keeping up with rising costs.
"It can be up to $600,000 per year to operate a pool and that's without one-off maintenance fixes," she said.
Yuendumu community pool is also part of The Y's Remote Pools Project. (ABC News: Xavier Martin)
"The entrance fees to pools, if council charge them, go nowhere near covering those operational costs."
In an effort to attract extra funding, the Tiwi Islands Regional Council has now commissioned a master plan for a sporting precinct, which is set to include a new pool facility and a mini water park for children.
"The community has been calling out for something to keep our youth and our young kids and people in general … leading healthy lifestyles," Ms De Santis says.
Remote pools can also provide employment opportunities for locals, like Wadeye lifeguards Kevin 'KK' Dumoo and Terrance Bunduck. (ABC News: Matt Garrick)
The Tiwi Islands council estimates it could cost up to $10 million to get the new pool up and running, but it's the ongoing costs of maintenance and staffing that are of greatest concern.
"We don't have the money to fund the staff, we don't have the money to pay the power, the water bill," Ms De Santis says.
The master plan is due to be completed in February with the council hopeful it will attract funding from the territory and commonwealth governments, as well as private investment.