In the Dharug language spoken by the local Aboriginal people, Coogee, derived from \u201ckoojah\u201d or \u201ckoojay\u201d, translates to \u201cbad smell\u201d, \u201crotting seaweed\u201d or \u201cstinking place\u201d.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s perhaps unsurprising, then, that this week Coogee ranked as the Sydney ocean beach most polluted<\/a> with faecal matter \u2013 again.<\/p>\n Coogee\u2019s grading in the 2026 state of the beaches report<\/a>, an annual survey by the New South Wales environment department, indicated \u201cmicrobial water quality is susceptible to faecal pollution, particularly after rainfall\u201d.<\/p>\n An unsavoury finding indeed, yet one hard to reconcile with the clear blue water seen on a sunny morning at Coogee beach, as hundreds of revellers stretch out on beach towels and paddle gleefully in the ocean.<\/p>\n I am here on Friday in search of poo, or any visible signs of the poor water quality grade the popular swimming spot has held for several years now, but instead all I spot are happy children and families.<\/p>\n Paul Sampson dries off after a swim at Coogee beach: \u2018I\u2019ve swum here for about 25 years, and I\u2019m still alive.\u2019 Photograph: Liz Ham\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Among them is Paul Sampson, who is towelling himself off after a swim. I ask him if he feels the water is safe, and he replies: \u201cWell, I\u2019ve swum here for about 25 years, and I\u2019m still alive.<\/p>\n \u201cSure, compared to the south coast, the water\u2019s not as clean, but what are you going to do? Generally speaking, the water\u2019s a lot cleaner today to 10, 20 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019s not wrong. In 1989, a Turn Back the Tide concert at Bondi beach drew more than 200,000 people protesting severe ocean sewage pollution<\/a> on Sydney\u2019s coastline.<\/p>\n Things have improved since then, but the city is still dealing with the collective trauma of the \u201cmystery balls\u201d. Coogee was one of several beaches<\/a> that were closed in 2024 and 2025 after poo balls<\/a> were carried back to shore by waves and wind. The fear of a giant fatberg which, ominously, remains<\/a> behind a closed door at the Malabar wastewater treatment plant, is alive and real.<\/p>\n Charlie Herbert says the water quality findings were \u2018disappointing\u2019. Photograph: Liz Ham\/The Guardian<\/p>\n