Originally built as the 5,500 seat swimming pool for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics' swimming, diving and water polo competitions, Westpac Centre has fulfilled a variety of purposes. It currently serves as a training and administration base for Collingwood Football Club and the Victorian Institute of Sport.
Olympic Games
A competition was held in 1952 to establish a design team to construct the Olympic Pool. On Christmas Eve of the same year, architects Kevin Borland, Peter McIntyre, John and Phyllis Murphy and engineer Bill Irwin were announced as the winners. Construction, which commenced in October 1954, was only made possible through the most modern building materials and engineering technology of the time.
Come the much anticipated Olympic swimming competition and the heroes for Australia were Dawn Fraser, Lorraine Crapp and Murray Rose - the latter winning three golds as a teenager. All up, the Aussies won eight gold, four silver and two bronze in the pool.
From conception to competition.
Controversy
Whilst Melbourne was known as the 'friendly Games', one moment of discord occurred in the water polo. Amid the backdrop of the Hungarian Revolution, the USSR and Hungary played out their political differences in a spiteful encounter that required police to shepherd away angry spectators near the end. Hungary enjoyed the last laugh, winning the Semi-Final 4-0 and then taking the gold. A film 'Children of Glory', includes a re-enactment of the 'blood in the water' match whilst a documentary 'Freedom's Fury' (produced by Quentin Tarantino and Lucy Liu, narrated by Mark Spitz) reunites players from both sides who tell the story of the 'bloodiest game in Olympic history'.
Spectators and officials are furious as a bloodied Ervin Zador (who scored twice) leaves the pool.
Melbourne Sports & Entertainment Centre
As plans to refurbish the Olympic Pool building drew media attention in 1981, Chairman of the National Trust, Rodney Davidson, was quoted as saying the building was “of the greatest importance architecturally and historically". The Olympic Pool was replaced by a parquetry floor in 1983, and the 7,200 seat venue (below) became the city's primary entertainment facility. Following the $10.5m renovation the Melbourne Sports & Entertainment Centre, also known as 'The Glasshouse', hosted international entertainers the calibre of Elton John and legendary UK band Queen
The first NBL game at The Glasshouse was a double header on 4 April 1984. St Kilda defeated Nunawading and Geelong beat Coburg. The Centre became synonomous with Victorian basketball and the NBL's boom period - by 1987 four Victorian clubs called The Glasshouse home and by 1990-91 nearly 60 games were played there per season. In fact, such was the popularity, games were increasingly transferred across the road to Rod Laver Arena as the decade progressed. The venue hosted it's final match 5 June 1998 (North Melbourne d Perth), after an NBL record of 343. This figure included Championship deciders in 1984, 1988, 1989, and 1994, as well as All star games in 1988, 1989 and 1991.
'The Glasshouse' c1980's - the Harlem Globetrotters came to town; Tigers' legend Andrew Gaze was equally skilled.
Westpac Centre Renovation
In 2002 the heritage listed Olympic Pool was returned to its original shape—the $20m refurbishment overseen by one of the original architects Peter McIntyre. Its restoration reflected key elements of its original award winning plans. The new facilities, used by Collingwood Football Club and Victorian Institute of Sport, included administration offices, theatrette, exhibition space, a world class gymnasium, 25m lap pool and hydrotherapy spa.
Fifty years after its design, the Olympic Swimming pool was Victorian Heritage listed, being the last remaining stadium structure from the 1956 Olympic Games and architecturally significant as an early example of pre-tensioned steel framed construction.
Collingwood players train to emulate past champions, gazing down from above - and gazing down from above.