Following the tragic death of a 12-year-old child at a popular swimming spot, the community raised concerns about local children swimming in dams and quarries around town, and pulled together for one of the biggest volunteer tasks in the area.

The Portland Cement Works donated a block of land for the pool to be built and everyone who was employed there worked on the pool.

Among those volunteer workers was Portland pool honorary life member George 'Herb' Coleman, who worked on the pool from start to finish.

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"I was a first year apprentice fitter and turner at the cement works at the time and had just started. I was probably about 20," he said.

According to Herb, all supplies for the pool were sourced locally and he, along with hundreds of men, would work during their lunch breaks, after work and on weekends to get the site finished.

"The local cement company agreed that they would supply the cement and all the aggregate and machinery to do the job.

"We worked on a Saturday morning in the cement works and crushed the limestone [supplied by the company] to the right size and worked for nothing on the day," he said.

He said the sand that went into the cement was also locally sourced from the Macquarie River in Bathurst.

"Rolly Pattison had three tip trucks and he used to take them to Bathurst on a Saturday morning and he had about 10 blokes and they'd shovel the sand onto the trucks, five tonne at a time.

"They done that Saturday and Sunday, two loads each day," he said.

Herb said all the digging out was done with a bulldozer driven by his father Dick Coleman, most of the time.

"It was an old bulldozer from the cement works which used to get driven over across the road and we'd do the digging in any spare time we could find.

"Nearly every weekend we'd do some work on it, it was a lot of pick and shovel work," he said.

He said his father also turned the eight pine trees out the front of the block into pieces of timber boards for the framework of the pool.

Herb said in the early days of the pool chemicals such as chlorine, and the power and water, were supplied by the cement works.

"There was a ball down there [at the cement works] and they used to blow the water out of the ground with air into an overhead tank and then gravitate it from there to the pool and it was freezing cold.

"Now the water supply is from Fish River, it still comes across from underground through the same pipeline," he said.

In 60 years Herb said he had seen few changes to the pool and it was almost exactly the same.

"The only big change was when they took the fence down from around the pool. There used to be a three foot fence, you had to go through a foot bath of disinfectant to get into the pool, that was the rule back then.

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"The diving board is the same, the pools are the same except they've got liners in them now instead of the paint and the plant rim up the back had been enlarged, and that's really the only major works carried out there," he said.

He said he used to visit the pool a lot when he was younger and loved the atmosphere of it.

"I came here a lot when I was younger with my mates, every afternoon after work and have a bit of a splash around and then home again.

"I love Portland Pool because it was built by the people of Portland and the district for the community," he said.

Herb said the pool had brought a lot to the town in 60 years including a boost in tourism.

"There's a lot of people now that come from Lithgow and Bathurst to swim here because we've got a diving board, the others don't have them.

"It's really good on those hot summer days, it's crowded and the water is cool," he said.

He said the pool was a community asset, run by the community for the community.

"It's all run by volunteers, they will clean it out and get it going again for the next pool season to start in November.

"We're also very thankful for the funding we've received to keep the pool up and running," he said.

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To celebrate the 60 years of Portland District Olympic Pool, a fundraising birthday gala night will be held at The Foundations in The Powerhouse on Saturday, August 31.

Tickets are $80 and available for purchase on the Portland Pool Facebook page or from Simone Taylor at St Joseph's School.

The event is for over 18s and semi-formal. There will be entertainment by local band Camel Toe and a buffet dinner. There will be extra fundraising on the night and official proceedings to acknowledge the pool's 60th birthday.

All funds raised will go towards current renovations and upgrades at the pool.

Portland Pool secretary Simone Taylor urged the community to get behind the event.

"The township of Portland owns the pool and I am sure that the town will join us to celebrate its 60th birthday party, it's all about having a great night and raising a little bit of money. So come along and help us to ensure that our pool continues to be functional now and into the future," she said.

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