SATURDAY BREAKFAST #20: ESPLANADE, BRIGHTON

Visited 29 October, 2011

A good number of the locations for these Saturday excursions were long known about, or were noted after some recent drive-by; but many are new to us, and their existence has been researched prior to setting out.  After all, that was the general idea at the beginning – to venture to a different part of Melbourne each week, and thus to learn more about our city.  The Melways directory has been of valuable assistance, because it colour codes stretches of roads where there are shops.  The Esplanade at Brighton is one such street, and Melways accords it a short touch of pink opposite the sea baths.

As we have found so many times, however, the Melways pink zone provides no detail of the make-up of the businesses and no guarantee of excitement, and we had actually set out to explore (and did explore!) the area around the corner of Bay Street and New Street, Brighton; but there was nothing – except a small wood yard and fuel supplier which, occupying prime residential real estate, must be on the verge of being rated out of existence.  Likewise, our walk on the rebound along the one-sided shopping precinct in Esplanade had slim pickings, and nowhere to eat.  This left us with the beach side of the road, and “The Baths Middle Brighton” as they prefer to be known.  And it took us to the café and bar - added to the baths in a major re-development in 2009.  The porridge was excellent, served with stewed rhubarb.  The Bircher muesli was decorated with slices of green-skinned apple, but it was drizzled with honey and was too sweet.  And its baby vomit appearance was also a bit off-putting.  Still, this didn’t stop the serve from being completely demolished.  The lattes were excellent.

So, too, was the view, because the café has a first-floor oversight of the baths.  Sea baths are of three types.  There is the Sydney version, with a concrete pool constructed on the shoreline, below the high-water mark.  The pool is filled with sea water as the water laps over the leading wall.  Hopefully, it does not also fill with shark.  Then there is the complex of facilities built on the edge of the beach, with access to the beach and the sea through the complex.  There is usually, but not necessarily, some exclusivity of access to the beach and sea.  The St. Kilda sea baths are an example of this type, and they include in their facilities a heated salt-water pool.  Finally there is the “caged baths” type of sea baths, the Middle Brighton version.

Caged means what it says.  Facts and figures have been impossible to find, but my guess is that the caged area extending seawards from the main building is about 40 metres wide and 90 metres long.  The 90 metres length includes the narrow beach, but extends far enough into the sea to provide ample safety for diving at the far end (not that I am confident that diving is permitted – indeed it’s hard to imagine 130 years of Council or committee management that hasn’t been minded to introduce plenty of thou shalt not rules).  Any diving would be from the promenade that runs around the three seaward sides, which must be about four metres from the surface of the water.  [I was going to say that the height of four metres is achieved by the time you get to the outer end, but a quick reflection on the laws of nature tells me that the gap of the (horizontal) walkway above the water must be the same over the whole length.  Sure, the height becomes less over the sand, which slopes up, but the sea doesn’t slope.]

The “caged” aspect comes from the closely-spaced vertical slats that encase the “pool” on three sides.  These slats are no impediment to the flow of the water, but would seriously impede any swimmer (large fish, or human) who tried to get through.  I have not been able to identify any other extant caged sea baths in Australia, so the baths at Middle Brighton are very significant…………so significant, in fact, that they are listed by the National Trust.  The baths website makes no reference to this, and its designer need a kick up the bum. 

The baths date from 1881.  The enclosure was rebuilt in 1936 (after the devastating storms of 1934 had destroyed the original), and again in 1986, but is similar in construction to the original.   The present pavillion building dates from 1936 (after the storms) and, according to the National Trust, is “a stylish restrained example of the Moderne style applied to a civic building”.  It is of generous proportion, having been able to accommodate the 2009 upgrade that brought with it the present gym, restaurant and café.  The National Trust’s Statement of Significance contains an unhelpful error.  At one place it states that the Middle Brighton baths are “the last enclosed seabaths in Victoria”, and elsewhere it states that “the baths are one of only two examples of enclosed seabaths remaining in Victoria” – but it fails to name the other. 

Regardless of whether they’re the last or one of the last, the Middle Brighton sea baths are a special place, and should be treasured by the community – not just by the dozen or so icebergers who were taking the plunge on this rather fresh Spring morning.

Gary Andrews