An article in the Geelong Advertiser today discusses something nudists have come to know every summer - reaching Pt Impossible is a relief and a chance to put your teeth back in!!

The article, titled “Hard road to nude beach” (Click here to read), calls the gravel road “one of the worst thoroughfares in the region”.

A sealed road is required, not just for nudists but for the White’s beach dog walkers, and the textile beach users - in fact, as far as beaches go it is really quite nice, and would make a very good tourist destination all on its own!!

I wonder who we need to talk to about getting the road sealed…?

Interesting video on You Tube of a British TV show similar in style to Oprah, where people are interviewed about topics, issues etc. In this video, an 18yo Brit named Leah talks about naturism and why she likes it.

(The video used to work, but at the moment it seems to be unavailable - try this link http://www.youtube.com/v/xuoLEzU2SnE if you want to give it a shot!!)

Not a bad discussion, reasonably presented. Well done Leah!!

There’s a poll showing currently on the front page of the online Geelong Advertiser, posing the question “Should nude beaches be banned?”. We’re going to ignore the obvious generalisation of the topic on the grounds that there must have been a limited number of words the Addy could fit in that little box!!

Please get along to the poll and show your support for keeping nude beaches open for the enjoyment of thousands of users from all over Victoria, nationally and even around the world

http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/

Update: 27/1/07 1.45pm - 68 voters say no to banning CO beaches, from 76 respondents that’s 89% for keeping them open!!

Update: 28/1/07 10.00am - 187 votes are in, with 91% in favour of not banning nude beaches!!

Update: 30/1/07 11.40pm - 602 votes are in, with 92% saying nude beaches should not be banned!! Support for keeping the beaches open is clearly there

Update: 31/1/07 11.50pm - 662 votes are in, with 92% still saying nude beaches should not be banned!! After 4 days of running, it looks like slightly more than 9 in 10 people want to keep nude beaches open. That’s a very interesting result indeed!!

According to this article in the Gellong Advertiser (Click here to read), support for the poll has gone international!! Just think, lots of potential international nudist tourists now know Torquay and Pt Impossible exist!! Nudism is good for tourism, we say!!

After a week or so of media frenzy and stories of “thousands” of people at Pt Impossible for Australia Day festivities, the day turned out pretty much as expected - a lot of normal people out enjoying a sunny day, with a little beach cricket and some frisbee throwing. Nothing organised, nothing over the top, just couples, singles and families enjoying the beach just like any other patch of sand along the coast - sans clothes!!

A few people from this site as well as a number of the clubs were along and we all had a great time. A couple of us took a walk along the beach and spoke to many people enjoying the day, and it was interesting to note what people were saying about the issues:

- real nudists know that the dunes are not part of the clothing optional area, and don’t go in there.
- everyone who had seen the local media coverage were disappointed at how “sensationalist” it was presented, and how little factual content seemed to be included.
- Not a single person we asked could think of how preventing law-abiding nudists from using the beach would solve the illegal problems off the beach (such as in the carpark and the dunes).
- Many people were wondering why nudists were being singled out when inappropriate behaviour was so common on textile beaches. We were given many examples of inappropriate behaviour that had been experienced on other beaches, not just sexual activity but anti-social behaviour, violence, drugs and alcohol, thefts and damage in carparks, etc. There were some clothed people present who said they were not nudists but like the beach because they felt safer amongst the nudists after they had had bad experiences on the regular beaches!! Go figure…
- Many people indicated that regular police patrols through the dunes and the carpark would go a long way towards removing any undesirable elements.

Many people indicated they were supporters of keeping the beach open, and we received a number of offers to assist us in our efforts to keep the beaches as they are. Thanks to all of you who want to help us keep the beaches free!!

We were also told that the police had been past to check things out, which is great - people on the beach were pleased to see them, particularly the families, but we have not had any information on whether the police also took a walk through the dune area. Apparently the local media also made an appearance, but it was just before we arrived so we didn’t get a chance to have a chat.

Thanks to everyone who got along to the beach and had a great day - we’ve always said that more people on the beach is better than less, and we had no reports today from anyone we spoke to about inappropriate behaviour on the beach itself.

For the people who were there but didn’t get a chance to say hi to us as we wandered around, the message we were presenting is the same as always:
- If you see anything inappropriate, report it to the police, just like you would on a clothed beach
- Keep going to the beaches when you can. We like to know we are fighting to save a beach that people want to use!!

Feel free to write to us here if you would like to make a comment, have any questions, or just want to show your support - information on how to reach us is on the Contacts page!!

Over the last few months there has been numerous articles in the press concerning the beaches, and inappropriate behaviour, and it became tiring to see the same regular theme repeating - something happens on or near a nude beach, and it therefore must be the nudists. No point bothering to research the real facts, if there’s some sensationalisation to be had!!

(as a side note, click here to read this article by Hamish Heard in the Geelong Independent in December, where it turns out there are lots of “gay beats” in Geelong but no nude beaches were mentioned. We wonder if Cr Humphrey has seen that article?)

Anyway, the last few days has seen a couple of articles emerge in the papers that are worth mentioning, click the headings to read the full article:

Nudists Look out on Beach - Geelong Independent, 15 Jan 2007
Calls from the national Free Beach Association for local nudists on the beaches to report any inappropriate activity they see. We’ve always said this was a good idea - nudists also don’t like inappropriate behaviour on the beaches, not only is it unacceptable on any beach at any time, it’s worse for nudists because it gets unfairly associated with the community and makes genuine nudists look bad.

Pt Addis Problems Exposed - Geelong Advertiser, 19 Jan 2007
Article noting that Pt Addis signage is inadequate and/or missing, and that there have been cases of inappropriate behaviour. We agree, walking up the access trail nude is outside the clothing optional area and is not acceptable. Deliberately walking amongst other beach users, nude or not, is antagonistic and unacceptable on any beach.

The articles seem quite balanced, they cover off the facts and they talk about practical issues that concern the beaches - issues that are similar to those faced on any beach. All beaches suffer from inappropriate behaviour - from bullying and fighting through to anti-social activity, drugs and related activity, and that’s before you even examine the car parks and toilets of many beaches along the coast.

Beach issues are not about attributing blame to a single group - it’s about defining and implementing practical measures to monitor and control inappropriate behaviour so that genuine beach users can enjoy what the coast has to offer. And that statement applies to any beach!!