Sydney’s ‘city beach’ to close for three months on the cusp of summer

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The harbour swimming hole at Barangaroo will close for three months on the cusp of summer so the state government can improve safety and expand the area where Sydneysiders can take a dip.

Marrinawi Cove, at the north-east corner of Barangaroo Reserve, became the first new harbour swim site to open west of the bridge in 50 years when a ban on swimming at the spot was lifted in 2023.

Marrinawi Cove has attracted thousands of swimmers, sun-bakers and shade seekers since it opened in 2023.

Crowds flocked to the free “city beach” – a stone’s throw from Sydney’s central business district – although some complained the sandstone blocks around the waterway were crowded and slippery.

The upgrades, informed by community feedback from more than 500 visitors, will include a new decking platform and non-slip stairs to provide swimmers with safer access to the water. Sandstone blocks surrounding the water will be relocated to provide extra space for towels.

There will also be a new outdoor shower, an expanded swimming area with a realigned shark net, and a depth marker to improve safety. The upgrades are funded entirely by developer contributions.

Lands and Property Minister Steve Kamper said construction would begin next week and the site was expected to re-open by mid-December, in time for the summer school holidays. He said the government “couldn’t have anticipated just how popular swimming at Marrinawi Cove would become”.

“These upgrades are about responding to that popularity and making sure the space is safe, accessible, and enjoyable for everyone,” Kamper said.

The former Coalition government opened the swimming hole in January 2023, after installing safety nets, signage and a shower.

Sydney MP Alex Greenwich, who swam fully clothed with then-Coalition minister Rob Stokes at the site’s opening, said on Friday: “Sydney’s only ‘city beach’ is about to become even cooler and safer.

“I’m excited to join tourists, office workers and Sydneysiders to jump in the water this summer and
enjoy these community-led improvements.”

The upgrades are designed to improve accessibility and expand the swimming area.

Kamper said the upgrades were part of a broader agenda to improve accessibility around Sydney’s harbour foreshore, and the government was “committed to ensuring Barangaroo remains a vibrant, accessible foreshore that reconnects people with the harbour”.

Stokes had ordered his department to investigate options to allow swimming at Nawi Cove, which sits in a busier section of the harbour where ferries and other boats operate nearby, possibly with a floating pool. A spokesman for Kamper on Friday said there were no updates on any such plans.

Yasmina Bonnet, of the Millers Point Resident Action Group, said the community had been advocating for an expanded swim area and improved accessibility into the water for the elderly and less mobile at Marrinawi Cove.

“Sydneysiders love a good harbour swim. If the larger Nawi Cove, just near Barangaroo metro station, was also swimmable in the future, that would be fabulous.”

Community groups and the City of Sydney have pushed for more harbour swimming spots, including at Nawi Cove on the western side of Barangaroo Reserve, Pirrama Park in Pyrmont, Beare Park at Elizabeth Bay, and Glebe’s Blackwattle Bay.

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