A Pool with a Purpose: The Story Behind Melbourne High’s Swim Legacy
Thursday, 22nd May 2025In the aftermath of World War I, Brigadier George Furner Langley returned to Australia with a powerful mission—ensuring no young person would lose their life for want of swimming skills. As Principal of Melbourne High School, Langley fought for a swimming pool that would offer more than recreation. It would be a life-saving legacy.
Completed in 1960 and designed by renowned modernist Kevin Borland, the pool stood as a symbol of compassion, vision, and holistic education. The pool was replaced in 1992, but its legacy and purpose remain unchanged. Today we seek your support in honouring that legacy, by donating to help us replace the pool heater.
Empowering Every Student: Inclusive Swim Education at MHS
Since the 1960s, the MHS pool has taught thousands of students to swim, including many first-generation Australians for whom it was their first introduction to water safety.
Through programs like the Year 9 Outdoor Education water safety sessions, the school has used the pool not only to teach skills, but to foster confidence, courage, and community. It’s education at its most inclusive.
This quiet legacy has transformed the lives of many MHS students and members of our community.
Lane of Champions: From School Championships to Olympic Games
The Melbourne High School pool has long been more than a place to learn to swim—it’s been a launching pad for champions.
Take Julian Tan (Class of 2001). He began as a novice swimmer, struggling with freestyle in Year 9. With persistence and the support of the MHS swim program, he went on to win multiple freestyle events for the school by Year 12. His story is one of quiet determination and local triumph—proof that the right environment can turn potential into achievement.
Then there’s Lachlan Edwards, whose journey began in the same pool. As swim captain and water polo leader, he helped secure MHS victories before heading to the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games as part of Australia’s national water polo team. His talent also took him to the University of Southern California, one of the top collegiate athletic programs in the US, and then into a professional career as an NFL punter.
These stories—one local, one global—are united by a single starting point: the MHS pool. Built on vision, care and opportunity, it continues to shape students into athletes, leaders and role models.
Today we seek your support in creating our next first-time swimmers and champions, by donating to help us replace the pool heater.
Thank you to the MHS VCE Media Team for the videos and artwork below, with special thanks to:
Dillon Maltzis
Ivan Trinh
Michael Chandler
Shawn Lam
Josh Holtz
Wyn Hughes
Paul Morton
Sonya Mulholland
Nixx Hertzong
Ronin Chingshubam
Ryan Ng
Eugene Tu
Kriston Norris
George Karpathakis
Isaac Ho
Siddhu Potiuri
Brendan Liang
David Ngo
Khoi Tang
