Nearly 70 years later - he's pulled it off again.

The new 50 metre outdoor pool at Griffith Regional Aquatic and Leisure Centre opened to the public on Sunday.

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Now 78-years-old, Mr Farrell once again set up out the front of the pool hours before the doors opened and became the first person to dive in on opening day.

"I'd always been quite chuffed about being the first person to pay to go into the old pool when I was just a little kid," Mr Farrell said.

"So I thought 'oh it'll be interesting to see if I can be the first person into the new pool as well."

Mr Farrell arrived at 8am, armed with some coffee, "a good book" and a chair to help him through the wait.

He described being the first person in the water as "a great moment".

"Ian Thorpe once said every time you dive into a pool you get this terrific feeling of relaxation, relief and pleasure," Mr Farrell said.

"That's how I felt today."

Having once been a passionate competitive swimmer, who represented NSW at the Australian Championships in 1961 and 1962, Mr Farrell is keen to use the new outdoor pool to get back into the swing of things.

"I dived in today, swam a lap of freestyle and then a lap of backstroke."

"It was a struggle because I haven't been training in a while," he laughed.

"10 years ago I could swim a kilometre without stopping no trouble ... I would like to get back to doing that."

Being the first in the water offered Mr Farrell a chance to reminisce about all the hours he had spent in the old pool, back when he was "just a young Canal Street kid".

He said Griffith Olympic Pool was the "social centre of the town" in the 1950s and 1960s, with there being "up to 1000 locals of all ages at the pool" on some days.

"Rules were few ... kids were able to chase each other around the concrete," he recalled.

"There were two diving boards, a one metre and a three metre. Kids lined up in droves to have their turn and the Gilleard boys, Stewart and Stan, wowed the girls with their somersaults."

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Mr Farrell remembered that day in 1953 when he became the first to enter the old pool, and how the Griffith Shire Council had provided several bags of coins which were scattered across the pool.

"When a whistle sounded the kids dived into the pool and swam underwater to get as many coins as they could," Mr Farrell said.

"Lots of kids popped the coins in their mouths and dived over and over.

"A few even managed to swallow some of the coins and had the decision of either 'looking' for the coins a day or two later, or just surrendering them to the Griffith sewerage lines."