It’s a Tuesday morning, the infinite blue sky of Byron Bay has opened up and the six naturists – four men, two women – have stripped down to their birthday suits for a quick dip in the buff.
This section of beach – an 800-metre stretch along the vast coastline – forms the only legal clothing-optional beach in the shire. Among those taking advantage of the opportunity to be out in the open is Duncan James, vice-president of Northern Rivers Naturists, who is something of an evangelist for “embracing the beach as Mother Nature intended.”
“Many of the beach users have described the clothing-optional beach as their happy place, a place where they can disconnect from modern day stresses, a place they can feel at one with nature,” he says.
There is, however, a metaphorical cloud on the horizon. On Sunday, Tyagarah is set to be stripped of its status as an official clothing-optional beach.
“I guess these values aren’t shared by New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service [NPWS], who are hell-bent on closing one of Byron’s last alternative community hubs and experiences,” James says.
Recently, some solid gold asshole tried to close one of the two nude beaches in our city by getting a playground installed on it (the nude beach is in the wealthy part of town, nestled between $6.2m dollar homes in a neighborhood that only recently become staggeringly wealthy. The beach itself is tiny, but heavily used.
Luckily, hundreds and hundreds of people showed up at the tiny community center, all in favor of protecting the nude beach. People were packed in, and a line stretched out deep into the lobby and out the main doors. They keep trying to close it, but people love it too much. Realistically, the city needs more nude beaches, not less. Beach goer cars line the neighborhood for blocks, and the park and bike racks are always completely full.
I hope the recent attention brings it back to its former dykekiki glory this summer, it’s really fallen into grody hempfest crowd over the last several years. I pick up so much trash when I go there now, it’s kinda depressing.