|
24 January 2001
"STILL A MAGICAL PLACE"
THE ST KILDA SEABATHS IN THE EIGHTIES
After fifty years of exposure to salt water and steam, the old St Kilda Sea Baths had fallen into disrepair by the 1980s. But despite the peeling paint and falling tiles, it managed to win a new generation of devotees.
One of the converts was Heather Venn, who started going to the baths in 1986 before she moved to St Kilda three years later.
"I started to mix with a group of ‘white witches', mostly gay, who were into women's spirituality. They used to organise ‘women only' nights at the baths. I bravely went along to one - the first of many. It was like a scene from a mythological painting - steam, candles and naked women everywhere. Women massaged each and sat in the water and chatted. Everyone skin shone. Pink and glowing, we gazed at the moon and howled. After we got really hot, a few brave souls rushed out into the bay in the nude or ‘skyclad', as we called it.
"Under the candlelight, we saw the baths as they used to be. You couldn't see the peeling paint or the falling tiles. It evoked the Turkish baths of the old Constantinople. As a ‘women only' space, it felt safe and relaxed " she said.
Ms Venn, now a TAFE teacher, said that once she had discovered the delights of the baths, she went regularly for soaks and massages at other times.
"It wasn't like ordinary swimming pools where you felt everyone was looking at you if you were overweight, pale or disabled. It didn't matter if you were a supermodel or a 60 year old grandmother. People were there for the baths. It was part of the European tradition of going to the baths for your health, not necessarily to look good. One of the regulars was a male amputee who felt completely comfortable at the baths.
"I soon realised that there was a hidden St Kilda, a St Kilda you didn't know about if you only went to trendy cafes. The baths were one place where Jewish and European immigrants of all sorts rubbed shoulders - literally - with younger alternative or punkish women. It was the first time I heard Yiddish spoken communally," she said.
Ms Venn said that she had a regular routine.
"I used to have a hot sea spa, followed by a dawdle in the warm sea pool, then back to the spa again. If there wasn't any sun on the top deck, I could always lie on one of the sagging banana lounges in the women's section. Lying on the banana lounges on a winter's day as the rain spat salt on the windows was wonderful. The spa was just great for stress or menstrual cramps. Sometimes I had a massage. You could choose between Chinese or Swedish styles. I didn't venture into the Turkish baths because I found them too hot, especially in the inner sanctum.
"The baths were orientated towards the bay so it felt as if you were in a special enclave. As you looked out to sea, you could overlook the dagginess of the surrounds. It was still a magical place. There was a sense of elsewhere. You could have been anywhere from the Roman Empire onwards.
"At the baths, you felt safe, not just on a physical level but from judgement. There was a strong community feel to the baths which is why so many of us were upset when they were closed down. There are still too few places like that which is why, all these years later, there is still just a depth of feeling about their closure and the long time it's taken to rebuild them," she said.
British immigrant, Clare Allan-Kamil, discovered the baths when she moved to St Kilda in 1981 at the age of 19, after six months in Bentleigh where she longed for the safe and friendly surrounds of the Turkish baths of London.
"In London, I used to go to the Turkish baths in East End which were frequented by women I knew from the local Jewish community and other Europeans. The baths were dilapidated but wonderfully warm. I heard about the St Kilda baths at the Scheherezade Restaurant in Acland Street where I went for latkes.
"I found it a welcoming, womb-like environment. I fell in with a group of Hungarian and Polish women who were totally accepting. We used to meet up at least once a week. The cares of the world fell off my shoulders. There was a long period when I was very depressed. It was the only place I felt safe. I used to go Wednesday nights and sometimes on Friday nights before shule [synagogue]," she said.
Ms Allan-Kamil, now a corporate writer and living in Yarraville, said she looked back on the old days of the baths "with a great deal of longing".
An exhibition on the history of bathing will be held at the redeveloped St Kilda Seabaths from Sunday 7 April – Sunday 6 May 2001. The City of Port Phillip and South Pacific St Kilda Pty Ptd have joined forces to sponsor the exhibition. It will mark the completion and reopening of the baths and is being largely funded by its owners, South Pacific St Kilda Pty Ptd. The City of Port Phillip has earmarked $5000 in the 2000 - 2001 budget towards the exhibition.
There has been a huge public response to the call for stories, photos and memorabilia but junior and senior swimming certificates are still welcome for inclusion in the exhibition.
Written by:
Carmel Shute
Council Media Officer
City of Port Phillip
|