Perth City Baths

{{Short description|Former swimming facility in Perth, Western Australia}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

File:Perth City Baths c.1900.jpg

File:Perth City Baths c.1905.jpg {{circa|1905}}]]

Perth City Baths was a public swimming facility, located on the north shore of Perth Water on the Swan River, in Perth, Western Australia.{{cite web|url=http://www.slwa.wa.gov.au/swan_river/living_with_the_land/bathing|title=Bathing|work=State Library of Western Australia – Swan River Stories|accessdate=30 May 2012}} During his 1881 sojourn in Perth, exhibition impresario, Jules Joubert, had recommended that the City consider a public bath.{{cite web|url=http://books.publishing.monash.edu/apps/bookworm/view/SEIZE+THE+DAY/123/xhtml/chapter5.html|title=Hidden Treasure|publisher=Monash University Publishing|author=Lise Summers| year=2008|accessdate=30 May 2017}} The baths were opened in 1885, with segregated bathing.

The ornate Moorish style building was opened on 5 March 1898 by the Mayor of Perth, Alexander Forrest and was leased to the Perth City Council.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3196583 |title=THE CITY SWIMMING BATHS. |newspaper=The West Australian |location=Perth |date=7 March 1898 |accessdate=31 May 2012 |page=2 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} Costing £2600, equivalent to {{AUD|{{Inflation|AU|2600|1898|r=-2}}|link=yes}} in {{Inflation/year|AU}}, with government support, the mostly jarrah building had four towers capped by cupolas and was designed by {{thinspace |G.|R.}} Johnson and built by C. Nelson.

The baths were approached from The Esplanade on a {{convert|300|ft|m|order=flip|adj=mid|-long}} jetty.

A second set of baths opened at Crawley in February 1914 were the premier baths for the city. Debate about the location had included discussion of the possibility of being able to see into the baths from Kings Park, into the change rooms. The Perth baths were partially demolished in 1917, and completely removed by 1920.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article81804905 |title=The Picturesque City of Perth: The City Baths |newspaper=The Daily News |location=Perth |date=1 October 1921 |accessdate=6 November 2012 |page=22 Edition: Final Edition |publisher=National Library of Australia}}