Between One Mile Beach and Big Rocky Island, just south of Nelson Bay, lies the stunning Samurai Beach, a part of the Tomaree National Park.
Nestled behind the dunes is the four-wheel-drive-only authorised campground, where you can pitch a tent, or fancier if you can make it through the soft sand at low tide.
We have often camped there, lulled to sleep by the surf and the gulls.
However, there is one aspect of this beach and campground that may strike visitors as strange.
Stark naked people. Unclothed men, women and children basking in their birthday suits, all nice and legal and friendly. It is a family tradition for many, and last time we were there, we met a group with four generations, all just perfecting the art of skinny dipping and hanging out and about.
But here in Byron Bay, National Parks says they want to shut down the only clothes-optional beach between Nelson Bay and Papua New Guinea because it is ‘not consistent with their values’.
Hypocritical bullshit
So, let’s get this clear. It is consistent with their values in Port Stephens, because it is obviously so much more free, and hippy, and renowned as a centre of counter culture.
I’ve been to Nelson Bay many times, and I have never seen a single dreadlock.
Or a person under 65. So, National Parks, stop with the hypocritical bullshit about ‘values’.
If you really cared about your core values, like protecting wildlife, you might actually put some resources into dog patrols.
And nakedness is, actually, natural. Humans are the only animals to wear clothes in case you haven’t noticed, and if the environment is what national parks are all about then not wearing any coverings seems extraordinarily apt to me. Grrr.
There is a protest history here – Mandy was MC and I was legal observer.
People fought long and hard for the right to swim naked in our Shire, including arrests, fines and ongoing cat-and-mouse with boys/girls in blue.
I’d be the first to say that Tyagarah Beach is not the ideal location. Isolation is a double-edged sword.
This was all canvassed when it was created, and it was meant to be a lot closer to Belongil. It was placed further north than planned, to account for children playing at the creek mouth. But it is there, and when you clamber down the sand you can either go right for rude, or left for coy, and there is CCTV, onanists are reported by the regulars, the local police are not aware of any issues in recent times and there is usually plenty of paid parking.
So, unless Council or National Parks can come up with a better site, like Wategos, or Main Beach, then just leave it be. Of course, some local residents don’t like it – but anyone who purchased in the last 25 years knew it was there so they cannot claim to be ambuscaded.
But if National Parks remain stuck in the 1950s, then Council can and should act. There are two ways a beach can become clothing-optional. The first is via statutory determination by the state government – like Lady Jane beach in Sydney, and the second is where a local council determines to create one. Like Tyagarah Beach was. So Byron Council are seemingly washing their hands with ink. They may not have power over that site, but they can still make any Council beach clothing-optional just by a vote to erect (sic) signs. And at the very least they could ask the state government to save Tyagarah by designation.
There are other solutions we could mull over. Perhaps the simplest would be to make all beaches in the Shire clothes-optional, except in designated areas, say close to houses or within 200 metres of the flags.
Because it is worth remembering the consequences of blanket prohibition are enforcement and criminalisation.
I acted for people charged with ‘wilfully exposing their person’ before a very old-school magistrate in Byron Bay. They took delight in handing out prison terms, massive fines and criminal records.
If we are left with no free bathing areas, then it is inevitable that there will be policing and arrests and penalties with all the angst that goes with this.
And after all, what we are really talking about here is mostly penises. Breasts have long ago lost their offensive taint, and many women these days wear swimwear that, from behind at least, is invisibly hidden in the nether regions.
A Qld researcher could not find a single example of a woman being arrested for this crime in that state (although there have been here).
I am hopeful that we have matured to the point that just one strip (sic) of sand could bare (sic) the horrors of exposed ‘persons’. Really, half the population has one, even John Howard.
In 1883, the Sydney Police Act prohibited any swimming in the sea in daylight hours at all. There were bathing machines like huge wagons on rails so that women could swim in utter privacy. Topless women were being prosecuted in the 1970s. My fellow columnist, Richard Jones, was arrested (but acquitted) in Sydney. Let’s not be the first place in Australia to turn back the times by some sort of prudish game of pass-the-parcel between Council and National Parks.
We already have nude surfing competitions, nude bike rides, V days on main beach and beautiful drone overhead shots of protesting naked people. Much more is available on every mobile phone with just a touch.
Surely, we can have one beach patch somewhere in Byron where it is legal for people to swim au naturale.
♦ David Helipern is a former magistrate and is now Dean of Law at SCU.
Agree with you David .
How long must we wait for the powers that be
to Treat their Citizens as Adult’s.
Why not all the naturalist mull over the idea of purchasing their own patch somewhere.
You are a small minority group with a hobby of being naked.
It’s not up to government council, natural parks and/or tax payers to give you a specific space to run free.
Go to Japan and other countries and look at the community and private bathing pavilions.
Thank you David.
I have had several emails from concerned CO Beach Community Samurai wondering if that beach is also likely to be withdrawn.
I still believe this is due to development in Byron, specifically a 9 lot subdivision.
Recently at 22nd February Council Meeting, there was a Representative from same clearly encouraging the Anti CO Beach Tyagarah residents to oppose.
As a representative of Byron Naturists in conjunction to Safe Beaches Committee, I’d seen it all before from a concerned group wanting to clean up Tyagarah CO Beach to a full on aggressive division.
Thank you for your encouraging support.
Debra Conomy
“Byron Naturists in conjunction to (sic) Safe Beaches Committee”
Oil in conjunction with water?
Its a funny thing . . . I thought the REPEAL OF HUNTING in NSW NPs would be the first to go — guns and gunfire ok? Nude not? What’s the priority? What gives? You have to wonder how corrupted / compromised the parks can be . Feral, non-native pests like pigs might have to be culled out by professionals from time to time but that section of the park needs to be closed. Gunfire and people toting weapons in a NP are not too friendly and brings out a level of fear . Its certainly not a peaceful commune with nature — let alone killing a native species in a protected area. Madness or just politics?
I find it interesting that those in support of retaining Tyagarah Beach’s clothing optional beach, like this article, use sensible legitimate and factual information. Whereas those against seem to base their reasons on emotion, fear, misunderstanding and irrelevant arguments.
NPWS – “Maintaining a clothes optional area in a nature reserve is not consistent with the values the reserve is managed under” ??. I’ve no idea what they are talking about. The 14 March 2024 letter by Christopher (Gyan) Moyes, Tyagarah ?? Be it understood that the lake has no connection with the CO area. An that families and children can and still do use Tyagarah beach. They can choose to go either left or right.
Let’s all work together so that Byron can have a clothing optional beach inclusive of all. People of all ages learning that nudity is not the problem and work to deal with those who do the wrong thing in any public space.
You are encouraging people to do the wrong thing in a public place. You live in a pervert free fantasy world. Have the police not enough to do? Grow up.
What a well written & researched letter. Kudos to you David.
And for interest I’d like to point out that our so-called ‘lesser’ cousins in New Zealand, are actually way ahead in their anti-discriminatory thinking than we are here in the ‘mother country’. For many, many years, NZ has upheld the right to be nude – and it be well worthwhile for Australia (Qld) to get into the 21st century and stop discriminating against minority groups on the basis of an equally minority public who for whatever reason seem incapable of finding beaches that echo (pardon that pun!) their conservative worldviews. After all, they have thousands of km of beaches to choose from – which CO pundits do not!
And sadly this is even more punitive than the many global ‘Apartheid’ practices long since abolished decades ago – and here we are in 2024 !
So back to NZ.
While there is no law specifically prohibiting nudity, the Summary Offences Act 1981 addresses obscene or indecent exposure which prohibits offensive and disorderly behaviour. So it’s best to refrain from disrobing in the town square…
And with naturist organizations having existing since the 1940s (just like in Oz), social nudity is practiced in various contexts, and while there are no officially declared nude beaches, nudity is legal on any beach as long as it excludes generally accepted ‘offensive behaviour’ (clearly a subjective definition, but in real terms this more often than not means that social nudists ‘chase away’ the perverts & exhibitionists trying their luck on a public beach – something which can only take place when nudists have ‘rights’ to be there in the first place)
So my Q: where do these so-called upholders of ‘public morals’ find evidence to correlate nakedness with perversion ? And more importantly, how is the rest of the country/world wrong & Qld/ Byron Shire are right in their so-called interpretation of ‘public values’? No sir, these conservative mindsets are seeking to force their worldview over yet another minority group in the same way as they probably have done for years in other matters like gay marriage, womens’ rights & more.
Claiming that ‘clothing-optional’ is an offence to public values ( despite a plethora of research saying the opposite) is a complete sham and based on nothing more than outdated, personal opinions by a very small group of people. And the strategic risk is that by restricting these open spaces, Qld sends a very powerful message that skews interpretation of its $multimillion global marketing slogan “where else but Queensland” .
Where else – try Mexico, the Med or SE Asia. Maybe travel just a bit further & wake up in tolerant, open minded New Zealand?
By allowing a tiny majority of parochial operatives to push through discriminatory actions is entrenching the fact that Qld is a regressive, backward State now claiming ‘public values’ more at home in the mid 20th Century….”how disgusting – she’s wearing a bikini ! ”
(Which kinda’ explains why there is now a call to ban G-strings on public beaches too!)
But more importantly, it sends an unequivocal message to any ‘tribes’ of people expecting a culture of openness & tolerance that you are not welcome in Qld. And with it being a bloody long way for many ‘open’ minded people to travel to, many simply do not bother as there are many alternative options. So good luck with 2032….