Ocean Baths

Newcastle is fortunate enough to have two iconic ocean bath facilities open year-round for the community to enjoy.

The Baths at Newcastle and Merewether are notable features of our beautiful coastline, offering community hubs where locals and visitors can enjoy recreational and social activities.

City of Newcastle (CN) is the Crown Land Manager of both pavilion buildings for the Crown Lands Division of the NSW Government. All Crown Land has a stated public purpose, which for the ocean baths is set out in the Newcastle Coastal Plan of Management 2015 (pdf 4.8MB) and includes public recreation, community facilities, public baths, and recreation facilities.

The pavilions at Newcastle and Merewether Ocean Baths are ageing and require substantial upgrades in order to continue providing use and benefit to the community.

To help with the funding required to achieve the full potential of these sites, CN invited EOIs in 2014 and again in 2019. Although unsuccessful, the EOIs were in line with the Plan of Management to seek a financial partner to upgrade and redevelop the buildings and amenities.

CN has now committed to funding both projects, with public access to the Baths to remain free of charge and any income generated from the sites reinvested into the baths and coastal projects.

Communications and Engagement

Please refer to the Newcastle Ocean Baths and the Merewether Ocean Baths Pavilion pages for project specific updates.