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Michael has been going to this nudist beach for 26 years. Now he's leading the charge to save it
A Victorian beach has had a special clothing-optional status for over 30 years, but there are fears that could change if a local council writes to the state government to revoke it.
Published 12 May 2022 5:30am
Updated 12 May 2022 10:54am
By David Aidone
Source: SBS News
Image: Michael, who has been visiting Sunnyside North Beach for 26 years, is now fighting to save its clothing-optional status. (Supplied)
For 36 years, Sunnyside North Beach about an hour's drive south of Melbourne has drawn those looking to strip down to their birthday suit and enjoy the sun, sand and water.
Neighbouring Sunnyside Beach, the small stretch of sand is reached over rocks and is one of just three clothing-optional beaches in Victoria, and the only one along Port Phillip Bay.
It was declared a clothing-optional beach in 1986. But now, Mornington Peninsula Shire Council is considering writing to the Victorian government to revoke its status.
Sixty-year-old Michael, who does not want his last name used for privacy reasons, lives in Frankston, about a 15-minute drive from Sunnyside North Beach in Mount Eliza. He discovered it about 26 years ago when he became a naturist and has visited it frequently ever since.
Now, Michael is fighting for the beach - which he says means "different things to different people" - to retain its special designation.
"To me, it's a place where I can choose to bathe without clothes, and it's great for my physical and mental wellbeing," he said.
It's a place where everyone is welcome, no matter their "size, age, sexual preference - a whole range of things," he said.
Sunnyside Beach North was granted its "clothing optional" status in 1986. Source: Supplied
He has also been out in Mount Eliza Village and neighbouring Mornington in recent days speaking to locals about the issue and raising awareness of the petition.
It's difficult to track how many people visit a beach, but Michael believes thousands of people visit Sunnyside North each year.
Michael, himself a gay man, said it is particularly popular among the LGBTIQ+ community.
He said it is a place where members of that community can express who they are.
"The queer community has been using the beach as a safe space of gathering for many years ... and we would argue that [the clothing-optional status] needs to be retained on that basis for that community."
Mornington Peninsula Shire Mayor Anthony Marsh says complaints about the nudist beach at Sunnyside North have increased in the past couple of years. Source: Supplied
Mayor Anthony Marsh said the council received almost 4,000 submissions from people across the country.
"I probably wouldn't be wrong if I said it was the most we've ever had [for a community consultation], at least in recent history," Mr Marsh said.
While the council does not receive a "huge volume" of complaints each year relating to Sunnyside and Sunnyside North beaches, Mr Marsh believes the issue has come to a head more recently due to more locals visiting during COVID-19 lockdowns when travel limits applied, and finding that the area wasn't "family-friendly".
He said one issue was that there is little distinction between the two aside from a sign that states clothing-optional beyond this point.
"So if you go to the car park (at the clothed end of the beach) you'll often see people showering in the nude or walking around the nude," Mr Marsh said.
"We often get photos ... and stories of people where they're showering or walking around in the nude. So I think from a family-friendly point of view that often comes up as a complaint."
Sunnyside North Beach is located at Mount Eliza, about an hour south of Melbourne. Source: Supplied
"Just because people have a lifestyle [where they enjoy] using a clothing-optional beach, doesn't necessarily mean that they participate in this behaviour," Mr Marsh said.
"But I guess the narrative that's coming out of [local] communities is that it attracts a certain type of behaviour, regardless of whether or not they belong to that [naturist] community."
Michael believes there is a clear demarcation between the two beaches.
"In order to get to the beach, you have to walk around a tricky rocky area. It's not as if you just accidentally walk around you enter the nude beach, it's quite a deliberate action to get there," he said.
He believes the council should consider installing better signage, including ones that note behaviours that won't be tolerated, and CCTV cameras.
Council officers will look at submissions before making a recommendation to councillors on whether or not they should write to the state government to revoke Sunnyside North Beach's clothing-optional status.
If they advise the council should push to remove it, councillors will then have to agree on that recommendation before it is escalated.
"So even after that point, nothing changes. It's simply that we're now going to advocate to the state," Mr Marsh said.
He did not know how long the state government would take to reach a decision if this occurred but expected there would be no change this year.
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