In 1884 it was reported that English swimming circles were ‘quite aflutter’ over stories that the new side over-arm stroke had originated, not in Britain, but in the freshwater lagoons at Bondi. It was rumoured that William Gleeson, a leading Sydney swimmer of the ear, had copied the style from Indigenous swimmers in the lagoons behind the beach at Bondi, where he had played in his childhood.

Gleeson claimed to have taught the stroke to the leading display swimmer Agnes Beckwith in 1855. The sidestroke went on to evolved into the overarm sidestroke. At that time, aquatic events in baths, theatres and aquariums were features of the sporting and entertainment landscape of London, Sydney and beyond. They could be a lucrative source of income for swimming entrepreneurs. Beckwith’s protégé, Henry Gardner, had demonstrated the side over-arm stroke publicly in 1860. He later became the 500 yards champion of England. He claimed ‘to be the first to use and bring [the stroke] to perfection by winning the championship with it’.

Variations on the side over arm-stroke appear to have been utilised around the world, including by Native American swimmers and even in ancient times. The debate over the stroke’s origin and evolution helps to give context to its use in modern swimming and to its Indigenous history in Bondi’s lagoons.