Around 150 people rallied in support of a clothing-optional section of beach in the Byron Shire on Sunday, many of them nude.
The beach strip near Tyagarah’s Grays Lane has been the subject of controversy and national headlines in recent years owing to sexual assault reports and accusations of overly heavy-handed policing.
Advocates of the beach’s clothing-optional status have traditionally focused on the Byron Shire Council, which has liaised with police and NSW Parks and Wildlife Services to ensure signs outlining where nudity is and isn’t allowed are clear.
But NSWPWS has written to the council saying it has jurisdiction over the beach rather than the council and plans to revoke the clothing optional status as of 8 April.
Mapping showed the clothing-optional area determined by the council included areas of dunes that fell into the Tyagarah Nature Reserve, the agency wrote.
‘Maintaining a clothes optional area in a nature reserve is not consistent with the values the reserve is managed under,’ read the letter, tabled in this week’s council meeting.
‘For example, people are accessing not only the beach but also the dune and hind-dune which is creating environmental issues,’ the letter continued.
‘The continuation of a clothes optional area in Tyagarah Nature Reserve is not supported by NPWS.’
The land also falls under native title, with the Arakwal Corporation granted the legal claim in recent years.
The council is due to discuss the matter at this week’s ordinary meeting on Thursday.
No other nude beaches until central NSW coast
Naturists say they’ve been blindsided by the decision and last week reignited earlier campaigns in support of keeping the clothing-optional status.
Byron Naturist Community member Bradley Benham launched a change.org petition to ‘Save Tyagarah Beach, Byron Bay from closure’ that had attracted nearly 3,000 signatures by Monday morning.
The petition was addressed to NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe.
Mr Benham wrote in petition notes, ‘legal outdoor spaces for the naturist community are rare in NSW (and Australia) and this beach is highly valued by both committed and casual naturists throughout the Northern Rivers and SE Queensland’.
Nude recreation was a legitimate way of life, Mr Benham wrote, and the local community, interstate and international visitors had the right to some public space ‘where this freedom can be expressed’.
‘The Tyagarah clothing-optional beach has been a place of fun and freedom since it was created by community activism over 25 years ago,’ he wrote.
Mr Benham’s petition called on the NSWPWS to immediately reverse their decision and speak with stakeholders ‘to ensure there is a legal clothing-optional beach in Byron Shire for us and future generations’.
Organisers of Sunday’s protest said Byron’s reputation as a free-spirited and relaxed community was at risk.
Revoking Tyagarah’s clothing-optional status would result in a dearth of official clothing-optional beaches across Queensland and the northern rivers region of NSW, leaving naturists to travel to Samurai Beach in One Mile on the central coast of NSW, protestors said.
The problems at Tyagra are exacerbated by that it is isolated and with few beach users – potentially partly solved by moving the clothes optional area to from the main beach car park to Belongil, which is well used and has dog owners walking up and down, which would discourage inappropriate beach interactions with naturists
My partner and I have not found Tyagarah to be an “isolated” place “with few beach users”.
On a sunny summer weekend, the carpark is nearly always full and 50-100 people are on the beach at peak times. The majority of beach users are usually couples. The ambience is relaxed and convivial.
We support dog beaches for dog owners. And a legal nudist beach for nudists. Two equally valid lifestyle choices that deserve separate public spaces.
Big problem is it’s in a Nature Reserve, so it’s presence is inconsistent with reasons the land was reserved & shouldn’t be up to NPWS staff to police it.
The natural tendency of government departments is to expand. Internally, they would want money from state and local, and possibly some enabling legislation, so that they could take on the new roll and hire more staff, which increases their power. If they are trying to shut it down, the order is most likely coming from outside the department, and being done for reasons other than the ones stated.
Garbage!
Govt departments expand & contact at the whim of government. NPWS is probably the biggest political football of all, still well below staffing levels of 2013 when Fatty O’Barrell stripped it bare, despite all the additional land, fires, threatened species & whingers to manage.
All parks & reserves are managed under legislation & require statutory, reserve-specific plans of management that developed in consultation with local community & stakeholders. Firstly anything happening in said park & reserve must be allowable under the Act, then, if it ain’t in the plan, it ain’t happening at all. You’re welcome
Isn’t public nudity offensive to the cultural and religious sensitivities of most new Australians. Allowing the practice to continue would be un-inclusive.
They could be culturally provided for by the majority of beaches that are not clothing optional (though close enough to). Thinking women are culturally offensive to certain sects of right wing males but I don’t think they should be silenced on their behalf.
I find lots of aspects of Australian culture offend my cultural and religious sensitivities. Are you going to ban all them so I don’t feel un-included??
Obviously trampling the dunes is not an environmental issue if you wear clothes and footwear. I first visited the nudist beach in 2001 and there were issues back then. Beaches are not really my thing dressed or naked but it would be a shame for nanny state Australia to take away this choice for those that do enjoy it and who obviously are happy to take the risks on an isolated beach and by the nearby tea tree lakes
If human impacts on the dunes are a problem, why haven’t NPWS put up a fences and signs to discourage entry into an environmentally sensitive area? Afterall, they’ve had 25 years to install these commonsense preventative measures!
Closing the beach is an extreme response to a manageable problem.
I think I agree with Johnny lazzurus and why is there no trouble at other unofficial nude beaches and official nude beaches didn’t it once run from Brunswick to belongil beach then a certain massive holiday centre came and things change this is political and weren’t women nude on main beach for v day it’s a double standard and more body shamming there are many women who also go topless in Byron and beyond again this is political pandering to the blow inns who want to gentrify Byron bay and yuppieafy the joint maybe if they had flags and lifesaver s patrolling it would crack down on undesirable behaviour
I have never set foot on this beach, however what is wrong with swimming nude ?
I find the idea of wearing cloths to bath is perverse, and akin to Victorian practices of clothing table and piano legs in order not to inflame the passions of spectators.
Isn’t the problem with the feeble minded complainents, rather than those who mearly want to visit the beach in a natural, sane fashion ?
Cheers,G”)
It’s actually not natural for our species of human to be devoid of cloths. Evolutionarily speaking. Like the hermit crab takes on shells of local creatures to allow it to exist in new environments, we fashion different armours, furs if you prefer, that allow us to go anywhere. Even to the depths of the ocean, or the moon. If you want to take off your UV armour and cook yourself, that’s my problem due to the socialised medical system. Why don’t you just smoke a cigarette while you’re getting your dose of skin cancer?
As a some time beach bicycle rider between Brunz and Byron, (great run on low tide days) I’ve now stopped taking the grandkids along.
I’m not offended by nudity but the exposed sex acts in full view makes it raunchier than SBS on a Friday night.
On Main beach and Clarkes g-strings and sluggos are not uncommon but the crowd creates a moral veneer.
A tiny bit of decorum goes a long way. No need then for a “nude” beach.
JBean, just curious as to how long it has been since you have stopped going through the 800m clothing optional area of the beach?
A clear signage and management plan has now been in force for sometime and in my experience this has radically changed the undesirable aspect that the beach may have held in the past.
It would be a shame to site old/outdated issues to the current status of the beach.
With regards to decorum, I do not believe that our naked bodies are distasteful nor inappropriate. A small patch of just 800 metres to enjoy nature, free from clothing, doesn’t seem unreasonable.
It’s not possible to bypass this area if travelling from Brunz to the Bay along the beach.
See you at the WNBR in town then.
Yes our bodies are beautiful and growing up along our Shire beaches has been a family affair of fishing, getting pipis and swimming with lots of cultural stories handed down to us, with that comes the responsibility of our cultural duty to care and look after Country.
As a kid I was never scared when we went to Tyagarah but I am now, our family friendly clothes optional beach has changed.
Feeling uneasy, scared on a public beach is not ok.
I believe our free-spirited and relaxed community is not at risk and I’m happy to engage in community consultation with stakeholders.
Sadly fences don’t work on our beaches due to erosion issues.
Our dunes are trampled due to beach goers using the shade and committing inappropriate behaviour.
As a Bundjalung woman I support removing the clothes optional status for safety and to protect our fragile dune system.
Delta,
I am a long-time user of Tyagarah COB. My family and I also wish to have a lovely beach experience with friends and community on this stretch of beautiful Australian coastline.
As you’ve rightly pointed out, this is a public beach. I believe that our Australian society values inclusivity and acknowledges that of a variety of sub-cultures and legitimate lifestyle choices exist.
Many stretches of public beach have been allocated to dog lovers, for example. My poor mother is terrified of dogs and will not use that particular section of the beach!
Dog lovers have been granted multiple areas of access to our delightful coastline. (I’m not sure how much damage is subsequently done to the dunes??) Nudists, on the other hand, have a tiny patch which is now under threat.
I, too, want a safe place in nature to connect with a culture that I am a part of. To swim naked and free in the ocean and feel the warm breeze on my skin. These things enhance my health and well-being.
At the COB in Tyagarah I AM currently experiencing all of those things. I feel connected. If feel at one with nature. I feel safe.
To have those things taken from me would negatively impact my health and well-being.
I hate that women must feel unsafe anywhere. In our pubs, in our streets at night, or on a secluded bush-walk.
I acknowledge that you feel unsafe at Tyagarah beach. This is not my experience.
I hope that through open and meaningful consultation we can find a way in which we can ALL share and enjoy this stunning stretch of coastline safely and responsibly. To date, there has been no community consultation, only a sudden notification of imminent closure.
I sincerely hope that this rare, widely-valued , and hard fought for asset remains for future generations of people also want to experience nature in a natural state.
I think you misunderstand what the woke types, who claim to care about nature reserves and the like, mean when they use the word ‘inclusive’. They don’t mean your predominantly White sub-culture can have its own area, any more than they mean I could have a Whites only town. They mean that only one ethnic group can climb Mt Warning. They mean you can have a Women only gym, but not a Men only Gym. If some woke identity group wanted a beach, they would get it, but your nudity is offensive to certain ‘minorities’, and they will take it using current topics like eco and crime. The ‘inclusiveness’ is always tactical. Best of luck to you though. At least you guys are trying.
I appreciate Delta’s willingness to “engage in community consultation with stakeholders”.
But the time to engage with all stakeholders would have been BEFORE a decision was suddenly presented as a fait accompli.
A lot of people just dont get it. I have been a Tyagarah local for over 20 years. The nude beach was fantastic in my earlier years. It degraded into a creepy place where lots of very unsavoury things are happening regularly. Its not about freedom of expression or choice. The changes and the promises made about getting rid of the creepy elements have failed. Get rid of the nude status so woman can feel safe at the beach.
Ok so you believe that taking away a respectful clothing optional community is going to make you safer at Tyagarah as a woman …. where was the safety prior to 2016 when reports were coming through of major issues of wankers, swingers, exhibitionists … yes the general locals let it continue .., now that nudists are now on board ensuring that lewd behaviour is reported you now want the CO Beach closed.
WOW You Will certainly feel safe down there once the nudists have left.
And Delta … didn’t you always frequent the beach prior to 2016 .,,, funny that.
100% true ..that’s it . No one sees the depraved stuff that goes on there .
Just because the official status is removed people are still going to go there and use the shelter and shade of the trees in the dunes. So NSWP arent going to change that. Currently in the C/O area I hardly see anybody in the dunes as we all bring beach shelters for the day.
In fact it is more likely they will use the dunes as cover from the increased patrols that will no doubt start temporarily. (loud whistle alert)
Lets face reality. People will still skinny dip there just as they still do all the way down to Sunrise beach and Tallow beach.
Removing the clothes optional section will just disperse people over a greater distance and to other sections of the beach.
I havent meet a woman who has felt unsafe in the C/O area in the last 20 years as there are so many men nearby to come to the aid of anyone who feels threatened . All the reported incidents have been outside that 800 metre area. I think that says a lot!
The other area of the beach which isnt C/O is deserted. Hardly a sole in site. Thats a lot scarier.
As a lifelong nudist and regular at one of the three Sydney legal nude beaches, I supported and attended the Rally to Save Tyagarah Clothing Optional Beach last Sunday. To quote verbatim from the one and only Mandy Nolan from her column about Nude Ain’t Rude a while back (15 November 2017):
” Conservative culture creates repression yet they’re too stupid to see the links. Instead conservatives continue to create causal links between nudity and sexual predation. This stigmatises nudity by accepting inappropriate sexual behaviour as a normative response to the natural body. Saying that nude beaches are the cause of sexual predators is the same as saying women in short skirts invite rape. That women shouldn’t walk alone. It’s a cultural default of ours to castigate the innocent as being responsible for the behaviour of the deviant.”
It’s not the regular beachgoers that are ever the problem!
Hi Delta, sounds very much like my upbringing on Shire beaches.
This is not about safety or NPWS would have allowed Council to install cameras at the car park. They didn’t.
This is not about trampling the dunes or NPWS would have fenced the carpark and installed signs to force people to use the existing beach access. They didn’t.
Removing the legal Clothes Optional Beach will increase safety issues for anyone bathing nude because people don’t call the police for help when they themselves are breaking the law.
I’ve always found Tyagarah CO Beach to be family friendly, nothing happening with kids around, as any parent will tell you.
My female partner and I have been to Tyagarah countless times and we have never felt unsafe. On the contrary, it’s been blissful. Thousands have now signed a petition in support of the beach and many females and couples have left positive comments about their experiences at Tyagarah.
The beach in Tyagarah Nature Reserve is 5-10km long. Council did great work back in 2018 when the boundaries of the nude beach were clarified and clear signage was put in place. Nude bathing is now confined to a well signposted 800m section of the beach and, in my experience, most beach users adhere to these boundaries.
There is also a long stretch of sublime, virtually deserted beach north from the Black Rocks Rd carpark to Brunswick Heads. This is totally available for other purposes. No interaction with the nude beach is required to access that section of the beach.
As for the dunes, human impacts are a problem on many popular beaches. Closing a beach to prevent damage to dunes is an extreme response, especially when management practices – such as fences, signs, fines, and education – have not even been tried at Tyagarah. Cutting off the track that runs diagonally through the dunes from the car park would be a good start.
Has anyone checked if NPWS has a legal right to claim ownership of the beach? I have been a semi-regular user the last year & can say NOTHING sexual is happening here & the Teatree lake is deserted. To the bike rider, I doubt NPWS will let people ride bikes down their beach & don’t people in clothes damage dunes if they walk in there just as much as a nudist? By the way I have seen 2 people go up to the only shade trees there in the times I have been. NPWS do no maintenance, the toilet block is forever filthy, the road in will damage your car, the park was left to burn for weeks in October last year, it’s just a cash cow.
This is probably the most ridiculous post of the lot!
Legal ownership? of course they do! It’s gazetted. Do you really think NPWS have the time & energy to waste doing something they have no legal authority over?
Walk along the top of the dune as I have whilst contracted to undertake flora work there & are literally dozens of “love nests” where the regenerating native dune species have been flattened & squashed to conceal occupants & their activities, leaving behind condoms, tissues & gloves. The only clothed people I have ever seen atop the dunes are my clothed co-workers.
What possible reason are you basing your claim that Parks won’t allow bike riders along the beach? Nonsensical, unrelated to the issue & totally left field.
Teatree Lake visitation often causes the road to be single-lane due to the density of thoughtlessly parked cars of nudy visitors showing their “respects” to the Teatree Lake womens sacred site. Very respectful, very thoughtful parking too.
But congratulations for making a total fool of yourself for claiming “the park was left to burn for weeks in October last year”. Really? Clearly you’re not a local , nor know any grateful locals, nor were around when it burnt from that act of arson! To make that claim is stupid, wrong & insulting to all the parks & RFS firefighters who worked around the clock for about 10 days under extreme conditions to control that fore, hampered not only by the weather but the scores of morons turning up for a rubber-neck at the fire or demanding to exercise their right to go to the beach – despite the fire closing road & park! Unbefknleivable! No credibility whinger!