Has Byron Council finally thrown in the towel when it comes to finding a new clothes-optional beach in the Byron Shire?
With Tyagarah Beach set to be officially stripped of its clothes-optional status on August 30, a motion came before last week’s Council meeting seeking to continue the search for a new location.
Debate predictably ensued, with local naturists facing off against those who say that the shire’s clothes-optional beach has become a honey pot for sexual violence and antisocial behaviour.
But when the sand finally settled, councillors had resolved to simply ask the police to be more lenient toward nude bathers, rather than taking steps to find them a new home.
Council will request the police to be ‘more accepting of nudity when it is not associated with antisocial behaviour’ and to take ‘action to proactively address antisocial behaviour in problematic locations’.
In an apparent acknowledgment of the fact that police are bound by laws prohibiting public nudity in relation to nude bathing, councillors also asked parliament to ‘review’ and ‘modernise’ the laws in relation to nude bathing.
‘This is taking a different approach to how we could facilitate the desire of people, including myself, to be naked at the beach,’ said outgoing Green Cr Duncan Dey who moved the amendment which ultimately became the motion.
‘What we’re talking about here is to ask the police to not book people for being nude, but to book people for antisocial behaviours.’
It was a somewhat limp ending to a fiery debate over the issue during the meeting, which included the original mover of the motion pointing out the apparent ‘injustice’ of the shire having five dog beaches but none for nude bathing.
‘I just think it’s extraordinary that we put our dogs ahead of our own personal welfare,’ outgoing Cr Peter Westheimer said.
‘It’s a reflection of where Byron’s going and where it’s gone. It’s become more prudish and more responding to negativity… The Byron brand is damaged by us not having a clothes-optional beach.’
The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service evidently disagrees. Earlier this year, the department announced that Tyagarah would no longer be a nudist beach because it was not in keeping with its policies and values.
This followed a land mapping survey undertaken by NPWS, which found that a large area of the beach was under the jurisdiction of NPWS, rather than Council.
In response to outrage from local naturists, NPWS twice delayed the date when Tyagarah would be stripped of its clothes-optional designation. But the sunscreen will finally hit the sand on August 30, when the clothing-optional area will be officially closed.
No support for leniency from residents
Local residents contacted The Echo stating that, ‘East Tyagarah residents are pleased that the Clothing Optional area at Tyagarah beach will finally be closed down. We look forward to working with National Parks and Police to end the bad behaviour in our neighbourhood.
‘We do not support Byron Shire Councillors resolution to lobby Police to be soft on nudity in relation to Tyagarah and adjacent areas. We believe Byron Shire Council’s focus should be on women’s safety in public spaces,’ they stated.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
