Bit of excitement around April 1 – it would seem that almost every year, nudity or nudists end up in the centre of some April Fools gag, like being nude is such a shock to society that it couldn’t be anything but a joke!!

Which is why we didn’t post this sooner, it was a normal enough article that it didn’t filter to the top of the pile until now!! Anyway, an article was posted on The Border Mail, titled “Nude Beach Planned for Albury” – apparently Albury Council submitted the “secret plans” to State and Federal Govts as part of a funding hunt for developments…

To quote the article:

Efforts by The Border Mail this week to obtain a copy of the submission were unsuccessful but a public servant said there was not much point in seeing it as “it contains only the bare essentials’’.

Boom tish!

But these quotes were much more interesting:

While the council had nothing to hide about the proposal, she agreed some residents might baulk at the idea of sunbakers and swimmers being told that clothing was optional.

“Really there is nothing to worry about a nudist beach that follows the proper etiquette laid down by the Free Beaches Australia organisation,’’ a council spokeswoman said.

“They have rules like ‘no unauthorised photographs’ and ‘nude but not lewd’.

Not bad “comments” in the grand scheme of things, nude beach etiquette is quite core to the philosophy and does result in well-behaved beaches!

There are a couple of comments in response from readers, but nothing significant – and The Border Mail posted a comment confirming it was an April Fools gag. Is it just us, or is there really nothing that outlandish about a suggestion for a clothing optional river “beach”?

You know, there has been cases in the past where April Fools gags have been used as a real technique to float a potentially controversial idea and test the response. In this case, it looked like one against, a few in favour, a few more with general comments/observations, and that was it!! We think it’s consistent with society’s view of nudity in general, the vast majority are basically ambivalent, and there is a tiny minority who might get up in arms!!

Go for it Albury Council, we think this “April Fools gag” is a good idea that passed the temperature test!! And thanks Border Mail for getting such a good idea some airtime!!

(As a side note, we can’t seem to locate Heywoods Bridge, although we suspect it is the bridge that joins Talgarno Rd (NSW) and Hume Weir Rd (Vic) – the best spots seem to be on the Victorian side, but the little island that belongs to NSW could be entirel CO!! Not that you can easily get there, as far as we can see! Can anyone confirm this was the area being referred to in the article?)

It’s that time of year again – Clean Up Australia Day 2010 is upon us, and it’s time to get yourself organised and lock the date in your diary. Every year we have a group of regulars who come along to clean up Pt Impossible, and this year we’d like to see some more users of this popular beach come along and show your support. So get yourself registered and get along for a good bit of fun (yes, it is cleaning, but we still enjoy ourselves!!)

The details are:
Website: Click Here!
Time: 9.30am – 12.00pm
Date: 7 March 2009

Similar to prior years, you don’t have to be nude on the day if you don’t want to be, and there are locations we clean up where you aren’t allowed to be nude anyway (like in the dunes, the carpark and outside the designated clothing optional areas). Most of the work is actually in the dunes, as the beach itself is always in pretty neat condition. As everyone is aware, the dunes are not part of the designated Clothing Optional area, but we still need to do our bit to make sure our beach and its surrounds are spic and span so that visitors can enjoy one of the best beaches on the coast!!

Thanks to our new organiser Dave for his efforts this year in organising CUAD – Go Dave!!

As a side note, it would be great to get Sunnyside registered for CUAD as well – is there anyone on that side of the bay that would be interested in registering the site, and doing basically the same thing that Dave is doing? There’s not much involved – register the location, have an address that some materials can be sent to, etc. This site will be happy to provide a new email address for the person willing to organise, just drop us a line and let us know!!

According to the latest article in the Mornington Peninsula Leader, Sunnyside beach has actually been waiting for works to be completed since a 2004 report rated carpark safety and maintenance a “high priority”.

That’s over 5 years ago!! According to the article (which you can read if you click here:

The council’s sustainable environment director Alex Atkins described replacing the toilet block as “major works”. Mr Atkins said major works were addressed on a priority basis.

Fair enough – the council, like all government “businesses”, has to prioritise how funds are used, so they can maximise return on the investment! But are we the only ones that have noticed a slight bit of inconsistency here?? Apparently the council is aware of the need to complete the “major works” on the toilets since the 2004 report stated that carpark safety and maintenance is a “high priority”, and yet there is a push to close the CO beach (which is over 300 meters away)??? And we’re guessing the report didn’t say anything about the CO beach itself (since that’s not where problems have been experienced historically!!)

Toilets and carparks are problematic at many beaches – just because there happens to be a CO beach nearby does not mean an automatic association should be made.

Following the website launch, the ANF’s public relations officer Peter Struik appeared to talk about the new website, the nudist guidelines, and provide more info about the community – and did a great job!!

You can watch the interview here – Channel 7 Morning Show

If you haven’t already done so, go and get yourself registered on the ANF website http://www.aus-nude.org.au and be a part of this great community!!

One of the major problems facing the Australian naturist community is a distinct lack of up-to-date quality information and resources. The whole reason this website came into existence was because of the lack of information about anything in Victoria. But things are a-changin’!! The ANF has launched a new website, and it’s got a heap of stuff going on!!

Click the link to check it out -> http://www.aus-nude.org.au/

The launch of the new website also generated some good media, check these links out:

“Australian Nudist Federation publishes guidelines for naturists”
“Nudists told not to have sex while they’re naked”

Of course, article titles are less than ideal, as usual!! But, ha ha, that second title is a real side-splitter isn’t it?? *sigh* On a positive front though, once you get past the titles, the articles themselves are actually pretty good.

We encourage everyone to support the ANF efforts with the new website – get over there, create yourself an account and participate in the forums!! And make sure you leave some feedback – sites are supposed to evolve and adapt to what the users want, but it’s not possible to read your minds!!

Well done to the ANF and the website devloper for a great effort!!