The drowning death of a four-year-old girl at Orange Aquatic Centre on Saturday has rocked the community to its core.

The depth of their grief and loss is, for most of us, unimaginable.

The police are investigating, staff at the pool are assisting them and undergoing counselling to get them through what must be some of their darkest days.

As far as Saturday’s incident is concerned, that’s all that can, should and will be said at this stage.

But it offers up the starkest possible reminder to all parents, guardians and carers to ensure all conceivable lengths are taken to make sure our kids at safe in the water.

According to the Royal Life Saving NSW, between July 2002 and June 2015, 128 children aged under five years drowned in the state. In the two ensuing years, the rate of drownings across all age groups nationwide has increased.

What are the reasons?

Cost might be one. Swimming courses can cost hundreds of dollars – too much for some families. The state government should examine the feasibility of subsidising swimming lessons in NSW schools.

Lack of awareness? It seems hard to imagine that any adult might be unaware of the perilous nature of pools for untrained youngsters, but there have been too many cases of young children encouraged to enter the water despite an almost total lack of swimming skills.

Cultural distance is another barrier. Many immigrants to Australia come from countries with no swimming culture. Those families will feel no urgency about the need to learn to swim – though they may spend plenty of leisure time near pools. In that circumstance, for those families, one of Australia's great attractions becomes one of its greatest perils.

There may even be religious restrictions on appropriate clothing which, while they may not completely prevent children, especially girls, from learning to swim, certainly make it harder to do so.

There is no suggestion that any of these factors played a part in Saturday’s dreadful incident. But we must all remain vigilant to ensure they do not have the chance to impact on a child’s welfare.

The Central Western Daily offers it’s sincere and heartfelt sympathies to all affected by this tragedy.