Created by Tony and Ben Jones, the statue was unveiled on 15 October 2007 to commemorate Crawley Baths, Perth's prime competition and recreational swimming venue from 1914 to 1964.

The Swan River at Crawley was utilised before the war as a flying boat landing location.

[10] During World War II, the bay in the Swan River at Crawley was the location of a flying boat base, for Patrol Wing 10,[11] which had to leave Surabaya in Java.

[12] The base was also known as Pelican Point due to the feature in the river being the defining and identifiable location from the air, at the end of the bay.

[14] It was also the start point for The Double Sunrise squadron, which was formed in 1943 to keep the air route between Australia and the United Kingdom open.