Lawson Amateur Swimming Club was established on November 4 1930, making it one of the oldest swimming clubs in NSW.
The club originally swam in a dam on the site of the current pool. The dam was originally built in the 1800s to provide water for steam locomotives on their journey across the mountains, but after the construction of Wentworth Falls Lake in the early 1900s, the Lawson dam was declared a Reserve for Recreation . This area was known as Snake Gully or Frog Hollow by the locals at the time.
In the 1960s, the local community raised money to help develop the dam site into a 50m Olympic Pool, which is still used by the club today.
The Jack Ryan Shield
The Jack Ryan Shield is awarded annually in recognition of one of the founding members of the club. The shield is presented each year to the overall pointscore champion. This photo was taken in 2013.
The oldest engravings on the shield are on the round pieces towards the bottom, and they date back to the mid-1930s:
- 1939-40 Shirley Hughes, Jim Riordan 48 points.
- 1938-39 Bert Gabriel 31 points.
- 1936-37 Miss Jennie Hawkins 33 points / 1937-38 Miss Nell Gabriel 42 points.
The more recent recipients of the shield are:
- 1976-77 G Anderson
- 1977-78 Walter Hitchell
- 1978-79 Walter Hitchell
- 1979-80 Walter Hitchell
- 1980-81 Walter Hitchell
- 1981-82 G Salisbury
- 1982-83 G Salisbury
- 1983-84 G Salisbury
- 1984-85 G Salisbury
- 1985-86 G Salisbury
- 1986-87 G Salisbury
- 1987-88 D Anderson
- 1988-89 G Salisbury
- 1989-90 Trent Firth
- 1990-91 Graeme Toovey
- 1996-97 Tanya Davies
- 1997-98 Tanya Davies
- 1999-2000 Layth Saeed
- 2000-01 Cathryn Harrison
- 2001-02 Jonathan Davies & Nico Blazey
- 2003-04 Mitchell Gawthorne & Tanya Davies
- 2004-05 Jarrod Regan
- 2005-06 Jonathan Davies
- 2006-07 Tanya Davies
- 2007-08 Andrew Simson
- 2008-09 Ben Simson
- 2009-10 Joshua Stockton
- 2010-11 Joshua Stockton
- 2011-12 Joshua Stockton
- 2012-13 David Tobin
- 2013-14 Michael Witherow
- 2014-15 David Tobin
- 2015-16 Elana Forth
- 2016-17 Dylan Schuler & David Tobin
- 2017-18 Jillian Pateman
- 2018-19 David Tobin
- 2019-20 David Tobin
- 2020-21 Harry Stevens
- 2021-22 Harry Stevens
- 2022-23 David Tobin
- 2023-24 Elouise Tailford
© 2024 Lawson Amateur Swimming Club.