Coogee: a calm shore with a troubled past

The blue-and-white dome at the northern end of Coogee Beach repeats the silhouette of the former one, but almost all the old material here has been lost. After a severe storm, the deteriorated structure collapsed, and during reconstruction the dome was rebuilt after the old model. Restaurants and bars now operate beneath it; the pool and aquarium have long been gone from this site.

At the northern end of the beach stands a white pavilion with a blue-and-white dome. In eighteen eighty-seven, the owners opened the Coogee Aquarium and Baths here. The complex occupied an entire block: visitors paid admission for the pool, aquariums with exotic fish, roller skating, and other amusements. The sea served as the backdrop for a large commercial attraction.

In the spring of nineteen thirty-five, fisherman Bert Hobson caught a large tiger shark off Coogee. It swallowed a small shark already on the hook and was caught itself. Bert's brother managed the baths, which had long been losing visitors. Hobson decided not to get rid of the catch, but to bring the live shark to the pool: the approaching ANZAC Day called for a spectacle capable of selling more tickets.

On April twenty-fifth, visitors saw the shark begin to thrash about, and then a human arm with a rope tied to it fell from its mouth. A tattoo remained on the forearm: two boxers were preparing for a bout. An examination showed that the arm had been severed with a sharp instrument, not by the shark's teeth. Police published a description of the tattoo. Relatives of the missing Jim Smith recognized the design, and fingerprints confirmed what they said.

Smith had once boxed, owned a billiard hall, and took illegal bets. He also received money for errands from Reginald Holmes, a wealthy owner of a boat workshop who was trying to conceal smuggling and insurance fraud. Smith helped him sink vessels that had been insured in advance and knew enough to become a dangerous witness. The rest of his body was never found.

At first, Holmes denied knowing Smith. Then he tried to shoot himself in his boathouse, fell into the water, regained consciousness, and evaded police in a speedboat for four hours. After his arrest, he agreed to testify against Patrick Brady, a sheep shearer and experienced document forger who was the last person seen with Smith. Brady denied the murder.

On the morning of June twelfth, a few hours before Holmes was due to testify in court, he was found behind the wheel of a car with three bullet wounds. The main witness died, and the case against Brady collapsed. The judge ordered an acquittal. No one was convicted of either Smith's death or Holmes's death.

The old complex remained standing for another half century after that. In nineteen eighty-four, its deteriorated dome collapsed during a severe storm. Very little of the original material was preserved during reconstruction, and the dome was rebuilt after the old model. Restaurants and bars now operate inside. The aquarium and pool where Bert Hobson brought his festive lure for the public are no longer here. Their former address is marked by the current blue-and-white dome.