Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I stand here today to congratulate the Surrey Park Swimming Club on 120 years of serving our community in Chisholm. Since 1904 the Surrey Park Swimming Club has been playing a vital role in teaching locals how to swim. Surrey Park Swimming Club started with a 100-metre hole in the ground after the excavation of clay for the local brickworks in Box Hill. Now they are the largest swimming club in Victoria and one of the oldest clubs still active in Australia. Surrey Park Swimming Club has survived wars, droughts and a pandemic. They've expanded beyond Box Hill and have opened a learn-to-swim centre and squad training pool on the border of Blackburn and Box Hill South.

Many incredible swimmers learnt to swim at Surrey Park Swimming, including Olympians and world champions. The team at Surrey Park Swimming take their commitment to our community really seriously. They donate a portion of each swim school fee to their Community Access Program for Swimming, which is just wonderful. This program provides free swimming lessons to refugees and people experiencing financial hardship. They also provide free water safety talks to local kindergartens, early learning centres and primary and secondary schools. Thank you to the wonderful team at Surrey Park Swimming Club for all that you do for our community. Happy 120 years!