Balkumar Singh's legacy celebrated as Asherville pool reopens

The reopening of the Asherville pool, named after Balkumar Singh, celebrates a legacy of community resilience and the fight for swimming facilities during apartheid

Nostalgia and memories enveloped Vijayluxmi Singh, 84, when tributes were paid to her late father at the pool on Saturday. The Singh family, municipal officials, and aquatic clubs met to pay tribute to Balkumar.

The pool reopened on December 11, 2025, after flood-related damages closed the facility in May 2022. The eThekwini Municipality had spent R1.8 million to repair the damages. 

Singh recalled the day the pool opened on June 2, 1957, and how she also became a swimmer, lifesaver, and instructor in the years to follow.

She said many of the residents swam in the Umgeni River and Durban Bay. She believes the harsh conditions of both places prompted her father to motivate the city council to create a pool. 

She added that her father's growing concern for the lives lost as a result of frequent drownings and the fact that there were no facilities available for people to acquire the skills of swimming and lifesaving techniques.

Balkumar struggled for 23 years until the city council relented to his motivations and built the pool. 

He held numerous swimming accolades, both nationally and internationally, and had also established the Durban Indian Surf Lifesaving in 1932, the first Indian lifesaving club in the country.

Singh said: “My father's legacy lives on. We appreciate the fact that an event was held to commemorate his input to aquatics. The pool has created thousands of swimmers over the decades, which resonated with my father's dream.” 

Remona McKenzie, eThekwini ward councillor, said the event celebrated resilience, history, and the triumph of community spirit, as well as the revival of a legacy.

McKenzie said that the reopening is more than a celebration but a recommitment to nurturing future swimmers and lifesavers, and to ensuring that every child, regardless of background, has access to facilities that build skill, confidence, and safety. 

“Together, we proved that when a community unites, nothing can stand in its way. This pool is not just concrete and water — it is a monument to justice for Mr Balkumar. He fought so that lives could be saved, so that children could learn to swim. His vision gave rise to generations of swimmers and lifesavers.”

Ashraf Ali, from the Otto Aquatics swimming club and also part of the Balkumar Swimming Pool steering committee, said the challenges over the years without a pool escalated.

He said he was one of many clubs that had to use an alternative pool, which prejudiced the community in terms of location and travelling costs.

Ali recalled how the committee was formed and the community involvement in trying to repair the pool speedily, only to be met with challenges. 

“Otto has been in existence for 60 years in this area and utilises the pool, which caters for the disadvantaged community as well,” he said. 

Reggie Chetty, a resident, recalled the entertainment on the opening day, the Goodwill orchestra, the fancy dress parade, and the resulting impact the pool had on sport in the decades to follow. 

Shailen Singh, a family member, said they embraced the reopening with pride and joy, and are delighted that the community is now finally able to utilise and enjoy the facility. 

“The family were also grateful to members of the community who turned up in their numbers with spades and wheelbarrows and offered their manpower to clean up the debris left in the wake of the floods,” he said. 

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