Current president Janene Hindmarsh has emphasised the club’s enduring importance to the town. “It’s important our kids are water-wise,” Ms Hindmarsh said.

Every Monday during summer, up to 60 children take to the water and practise.

The club is open to children who can swim a lap of the pool. Attendees range in age from six to 12 years.

Children compete with their own time, aiming for a personal best and to develop skills. Each year the club gives out awards to encourage participating children. 

Emma Hillsdon, who has been on the committee for four years, said the club had been a positive experience for her children, and she had seen many participating children grow in both confidence and skills.

Ms Hillsdon, like Ms Hindmarsh, emphasised the importance of water safety and swimming skills for children in rural areas, many of whom live near dams and rivers. The swim club was the most convenient provider of swim instruction for Braidwood, she said.

Drowning is the leading cause of death for children under five and, in 2010-2012, the third-leading cause of accidental death for children aged under 14.

Braidwood is in a particularly risky part of Australia, as the surrounding region in NSW had the highest number of drowning deaths in the country between 2002-2012.

The town is also further from a year-round swimming facility than it is from waterholes, rivers and the ocean.

Open-water swimming is a much higher risk activity than swimming in patrolled pools. Rivers are the leading location for drowning in Australia, and lakes, dams and waterholes can often have hidden hazards.

The 2014/15 Royal Lifesaving Society annual report showed a 30 per cent rise from the previous year in drowning deaths of children aged under five. The statistical drop in drowning numbers after the age of five correlates with the uptake of swimming tuition.

Despite having held two annual general meetings this year, the Braidwood Swim Club has been unable to fill the committee positions required for it to continue. Ms Hillsdon encouraged families to support the swim club in leadership roles, such as the committee.

The final AGM will be on October 20 at 6.30pm at the Servicemen’s Club.