Mt Eliza also in the news
This one almost slipped past our attention - on the other side of the bay, the very popular Sunnyside beach has also made the media, and we’re not even into summer yet!!
The quick summary - Sunnyside has the same issue as Pt Impossible, being that inappropriate behaviour occurs in the car park and toilets, but NOT on the beach itself!! The police comment was quite succinct - “Sunnyside is a family beach and this behaviour will not be tolerated”
Keep in mind that Sunnyside is actually 2 beaches next to each other - the clothed beach is directly in front of the carpark and the nude beach is a good 200m walk around the corner to the right, over rocks at high tide. It’s interesting to note that the behaviour of concern is so close to the
clothed beach, perhaps suggesting that a nearby nude beach has nothing to do with the problems, but the seclusion of the carpark and toilets are the real cause???
Studies have been done into methods of managing coastal areas to make them unattractive to inappropriate behaviour - ideas like better lighting, regular patrols, access management - all make for a safer beach for all users. There is not a single study (that we are aware of) that states “inappropriate behaviour will cease when nude beaches are closed”… but feel free to send articles through to us if our research is incomplete!!
Click on this link to read the full article ->
No more sleaze please at Mt Eliza beach
And a reminder to everyone as we head into summer - police on both sides of the bay want to hear from beach users who witness inappropriate (and illegal) activity. We need the assistance of all law-abiding beach users (clothed or not!) to stand up for your facilities and do you bit to protect
them. The last thing we need as a community is another fight to save a clothing optional beach from closure!! And of course, behave yourselves on the beach this summer - check the code of etiquette on the FAQ/Links pages as a refresher!!
Wednesday, October 22nd 2008 at 1:06 pm
The point about properly managing facilities is well made.
When Mornington Peninsular Shire reviewed management of coastal areas in the shire a couple of years ago, the Carpark and toilet facilities at Sunnyside were marked for urgent action as it was believe that some of the innappropriate behaviour there was facilitated by the toilet design and the presence of obscuring vegetation.
It is interesting to bserve the photo that accompanies the article - it still appears that the old toilet block is in place, and vegetation is still in close proximity to it.
Perhaps with Council elections due soon, local ratepayers should be asking whether and when council is likely to act on its own report to improve facilities.