Australia Day - Point Impossible
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!!
