Can’t bare it: nudity at Obelisk and Cobblers under threat

[Danee]

A case of the ignorant and lame minority, ruining it for the majority.  I think the organisation should have taken upon itself self policing.

Can’t bare it: nudity at Obelisk and Cobblers under threat


TRIPPING off at Obelisk and Cobblers beaches could be illegal if Mosman Council can rally State Government support for a ban on nude bathing.

The council voted unanimously last week to endorse a ban at Obelisk and Cobblers, two of the last nude beaches in Sydney.

Councillor Simon Menzies, who pushed for the ban, said the beaches were known gay beats and that sexual liaisons were taking place in surrounding bushland, public toilets and near Middle Head Oval, where children play sport.

He said the beaches had been promoted as gay beats over the past 10 years through internet websites such as gaytraveller.com.au, which names the bush path to Obelisk beach as the “Enchanted Forest Trek” where “bad things happen to nice boys”.

“The gay beat is operating because of the attraction of nude bathing,” Cr Menzies said.

“The only way to stamp out lewd behaviour is, unfortunately, to ban nude bathing at these beaches.”

But naturists who frequent Obelisk and Cobblers beaches argue the council’s decision to return the sites to the wider community is an unfair attack on genuine nudists who do the right thing.

``It’s unjust to link nudists who legally use the beach to enjoy the sun with people who commit illicit activities in the surrounding bushland,’’ Juan Mellado, of the NSW Free Beach Action Group said.

``They need to look at targeting the real problem, which is getting rid of these bad elements that we don’t want there either.’’

What do you think? Should there be a ban on nudity? Comment below.

Another nudist at Obelisk beach told the Daily he was fined by Harbourside police earlier this year for bathing nude on a rocky outcrop on the edge of the beach because it was outside the legal zone.

``I don’t come here to engage in sexually lewd behaviours, I come here to enjoy the sun, sand and water and be nude,’’ he said.

``I commend the police for stamping out perverse activity but, in my case, I was fined for being normal.’’

Obelisk and Cobblers are owned by NSW National Parks and were two of five Sydney beaches officially recognised as legal nudist locations in 1996.

In 2007, then-Mosman Mayor Denise Wilton spearheaded a campaign to ban nudists from Mosman beaches to stop illegal behaviour including prostitution from occurring in public spaces, but was unsuccessful.

``You will get called homophobic, which I abhor because I do not discriminate against anyone based on sexual preference, all kinds of nasty names, but I urge you to be brave and go ahead with this,’’ Cr Wilton told councillors at last week’s council meeting.

Harbourside Inspector Greg Jewiss said increased police patrols had monitored the beaches since 2005 and police had made many arrests, handed out fines and charged people for offensive behaviour.

He said the incidence of offensive behaviour had not increased since 2005 but the number of people witnessing incidents had spiked since the area had opened up to the public and more sporting groups used Middle Head Oval.

North Shore State Liberal MP Jillian Skinner said she had recently received a ``sudden spate of emails’’ from residents who believed families should be able to enjoy two of Sydney’s most beautiful beaches.

``It’s totally inappropriate for these beaches to continue as nude bathing sites in this day,’’ Mrs Skinner said.

``We need to deal with the problem ahead of time and eradicate the source of illegal behaviours.’’

Join the debate: Read comments already posted on the issue.

The council does not have the authority to enforce the ban, as the beaches are in a national park, but will lobby the State Government over the issue.

Climate Change and the Environment Minister Frank Sartor, Local Government Minister Barbara Perry and Police Minister Michael Daley would all need to agree on a plan to prohibit nude bathing at Obelisk and Cobblers beaches.

All three ministers were contacted by the Daily, but would not state whether they would support the ban until they had been contacted by the council.


From: http://mosman-daily.whereilive.com.au/news/story/can-t-bare-it-nudity-at-obelisk-and-cobblers-under-threat/

[Leah]

I'm cranky this morning - this issue gets run every winter when it is really hard for the beach users to coordinate a response. Yes there are gay guys using the bushes for the wrong reason as they do at many isolated beaches - and as the police representative said the frequency of arrest hasn't changed.

The bit that pisses me off is that the residents (nearest at least a 1000 metres away) think the nude beach and the gay beats are related.  No - Middle Head is set up with isolation, bushland and tunnels and is attractive to some types of activity.

I wonder why people don't understand that clothed beaches are hetero beats where male teenagers can haunt female teenagers and vice versa for a little action behind the dunes.

[brandon]

This is really sad for naturists. I'm not sure what the solution is. Perhaps the area with bushes should be fenced off under the pretext of protecting an environmentally sensitive area.

BTW, the only sexual activity I've ever seen at a naturist park was between two women.

[Nude_not_rude]

Grrrr, that's ridiculous! I bet these councillors have never set foot on either beach. Seems to me to be just one former mayor with a bee in her bonnet. There is no way that turning Obelisk textile will stop some people from being naughty. Cobbler's, on the other side of the peninsula is very family oriented and I've never seen anything sexual going on there.

Damned wowsers!

I bet the FBA over here does nothing, as usual. :(

[Nude_not_rude]

Great idea!! Perhaps check out http://www.freebeach.com.au/

[O-William]

That's so shitty. Why does the minority spoil it for everybody else?

[kiwitim]

I think one of the best ways to stop this beach being closed is for the naturists to be active about stopping the "lewd behaviour" themselves. If the naturists do their best to discourage and report lewd behaviour, then maybe they will be no longer seen as the enemy. At the very least, a sign saying "Sexual activity will be reported to the Police", erected by a naturist or nudist organisation would go a long way at dealing with people's impressions, as well as discourage that kind of behaviour.

Better yet, WRITE!!! You have no idea the impression that a well written, personal letter to a politician can have sometimes. You are a citizen, you have rights and it is a politician's duty to listen to your point of view. If I was in NSW they'd have my email already.

For those lazier people, I've already found the contact details of the three people who the story says make the decision:

• Climate Change and the Environment Minister Frank Sartor - office@sartor.minister.nsw.gov.au
• Local Government Minister Barbara Perry - office@perry.minister.nsw.gov.au
• Police Minister Michael Daley - office@daley.minister.nsw.gov.au

Doesn't have to be long. Just tell them you're a young naturist and you feel like it's not fair to punish the good naturists for a few bad people's behaviour. Or something like that.

The important thing is to do something, rather than just talk about it.

[Leah]

The issue here is that you will only see the boys cruizing if you go looking for it.  If you follow the path from the top of the hill down to the beach you won't notice anything going on.

I'll only go to Cobblers because Obelisk is just too gay - love the manly gay but the camp gay carrying on like a princess I'd rather not suffer - and with the family mix at Cobblers I just feel beeter there and the sun last longer into the afternoon.

But contacting the relevant politician - Frank Sartor will only do what suits Frank Sartor and the sooner he is out of politics the better, fortunately under the existing act he has no say in this unless an amendment is brought to the house.  Michael Daley has no say either as the Police don't make the laws only enforce them.

As the pertinent Act sits within the Local Government portfolio, Barbara Perry is the person of greatest influence - fortunately her background suggests she will do nothing and leave it to the next Minister to ponder.  The act has stood unamended for the past five years and is due for review, including increasing the number of designated beaches in National Parks, so the FBA and other need to be aware of this timetable.  Particularly if there is a change to a conservative government under the sway of the Christian Right and possibly the Exclusive Bretheren.

Just as an aside the actual New South Wales Act allows that any local government entity can designate an area as "suitable for clothes free activities" - to initiate this activity a number of beaches in National Parks were designated as clothing optional - the beaches at Belongil north of Byron Bay are designated by the local council as are a small number along the coast and on the Murrumbidgee River near Wagga Wagga.

[kiwitim]

Thanks for that Leah. I'm not at all sure how the law works there, nor do I understand the roles or history of the people whose names I posted up.

I would still suggest people at least contact Barbara Perry. The Christian Right can be incredibly vocal, and even the most liberal politician can be swayed by an overwhelming number of letters on one side of an argument. I believe its important to simply let them know your opinion. The more letters in support of clothing optional beaches, the easier it is for a politician to defend keeping them open to opponents of free beaches.

Most importantly, it will never hurt the cause, all it can do is help it (unless you wrote some letter saying "I like nudist beaches because I love to perve on naked young girls" or something - but that's not what any real naturist thinks).