Pattisons’ swimming lessons still popular
Pattisons’ swimming lessons still popular after 25 years. Photo: supplied
They are something of a Golden Bay institution. On a hot Saturday in February, Jos and Margaret Pattison are working their magic, teaching children to swim at the Rockville Reserve Pool.
Over 30 children are splashing about in the pool heated to over 32 degrees, which Jos tells me is one of the reasons the husband-and-wife teaching team have been coming back here for over quarter of a century.
“The water has to be warm. It’s an important factor in improving the child’s confidence. If it’s cold and they’re a bit scared, they just want to get out.”
It’s another factor in the Pattisons’ success: their ability to teach non-swimmers to gain confidence very quickly in the pool. They teach weekend courses here to swimmers aged five and over and say it’s important to run lessons close together.
“If you only have a lesson once a week you forget what you were taught the week before,” Jos says.
Jos was originally a competitive swimmer, so teaching was a natural progression, and Margaret was a trained primary teacher. They started their swimming school in Cambridge in 1965, moved to Christchurch in 1973 and finally brought it to Hampden Street school pool in Nelson in 1976.
They sold their business in 2008 and retired, but they are still happy to come and hold lessons in the Bay each year.
“It’s Jos’s passion. He actually needs to do it - he just thrives on it,” Margaret explains.
The Pattisons were first brought over here by friends Carolyn McLellan and Margaret Allen to teach the children at Rockville School.
One of those children, Sacha Storer, and then her two daughters were all taught by the Pattisons. Sacha was amazed they remembered her when she brought her daughters in for their lessons.
“They said to me ‘you look like a Christie girl’. Their ability to remember my maiden name was amazing.” Dot Marshall from Patons Rock also comments on their ability to remember her children’s names.
“I have 15 children and it’s just fantastic that they can get to know the children so quickly.”
Today the school is gone but demand for the Pattisons’ swimming lessons continues to grow as people cross the Bay for lessons. Although these days Margaret and Jos split their time between six children and nine grandchildren they have no intention of hanging up their togs.
As girls and boys come up to say thank you at the end of the day, Jos says he is waiting for the day that someone says, “You taught my grandfather”.
Rockville Reserve Pool is open every year from November to March. It costs $40 for a key.
Submitted by Katie Lavers
