Help us to keep Sunnyside Beach Clothing-Optional
Victoria’s most popular nude beach under threat leaves local naturist community fighting for their beloved beach...and they need your help.Reading Time: 10 minutes (please, at the very least, view the action plan)
Sadly, Victoria’s most popular clothing-optional beach, Sunnyside Beach, is currently under threat. As the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council undertake to lobby to have the ‘clothing-optional’ (CO) status of the beach revoked, the local naturist community are having to fight to keep their beach.
On 1 November 2021, Councillor Steve Holland of the Briars Ward gave notice of his intention to move a motion (NOM (Notice of Motion) 317) which seeks
“a course of action for community consultation on a proposal that asks the State Government to remove the clothing optional status of Sunnyside Beach in Mount Eliza”.
Notice of Motion 317 given by Councillor Steve Holland at the 1 November 2021 Mornington Peninsula Shire Council Meeting
The beach attained its CO status in 1986 under the Nudity (Prescribed Areas) Act 1983 and has since been enjoyed by naturists and those looking to enjoy a clothing-free experience at the beach.
Now, the Council are threatening to lobby to have that title stripped. At this stage, we can’t say for sure what the motive is for this current motion and who would benefit truly from it, but it is disheartening to know that the Council’s vote to move NOM 317 was a unanimous one.
ACTION PLAN: SO, WHAT CAN YOU DO? COURSES OF ACTION YOU CAN TAKE:
Share this blog!!!
Like and share my YouTube video ‘Nude Beaches of Australia - Sunnyside Beach: a nude beach under threat’
Like @keepsunnysideclothingoptional on FaceBook to stay up-to-date with the latest on this issue and to get even more informed about the current matters surrounding the potential revocation of Sunnyside’s clothing-optional status. This page also provides plenty of resources on how you can help in this advocacy campaign, with relevant contacts for the Council and all.
Follow @savesunnyside on Instagram
If you are a resident of the Mornington Peninsula Shire, local to the Mount Eliza area (where Sunnyside is located), a constituent of the Mornington Electorate, or an out-of-town visitor/naturist who supports the local economy and small business within the area when you do visit Sunnyside Beach…I would encourage you to send an email in support of keeping Sunnyside clothing-optional to the following Councillors (just copy and paste the email addresses below into the ‘to:’ section when creating the email…
anthony.marsh@mornpen.vic.gov.au, lisa.dixon@mornpen.vic.gov.au, sarah.race@mornpen.vic.gov.au, Antonella.Celi@mornpen.vic.gov.au, david.gill@mornpen.vic.gov.au, steve.holland@mornpen.vic.gov.au, kerri.mccafferty@mornpen.vic.gov.au, debra.mar@mornpen.vic.gov.au, paul.mercurio@mornpen.vic.gov.au, susan.bissinger@mornpen.vic.gov.au
*feel free to use whatever content from this blog post that you need, but please make it personal. I was going to make a template, but we’re looking for quality over quantity at this stage of the process. Also, the more local you are to the area, the better.
PLEASE, READ ON FOR MORE BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE MATTER. So why, particularly, are naturists feeling so disgruntled by the Council’s current course of action?
The big problem with this is that the Council are pushing to have the initial ‘community consultation’ a very limited ‘locally focussed engagement campaign that hears from nearby residents and property owners…a mailout to residents to the immediate vicinity 50-100 houses’.
The problem with this? It is not at all representative of the overall sentiment of people that actually frequent Sunnyside Beach (and who may have been doing so for countless years), and it in no way moves to actually work with the local naturist community to address any supposed ongoing issues or misconduct that may be related to the beach and/or occurring around the beach. If the Council were to consult with the local naturist community, they may be pleasantly surprised to find out that they (naturists) are willing to cooperate with the Council and police when it comes to ensuring safety on our beaches. Naively, it seems that the Council fail to realise that we share the common goal of keeping our beaches safe. In order to truly achieve this, a co-ordinated approach to managing this area seems like a good place to start.
Beach safety - the common goal eluded by a contradictory Council
There is evidence to suggest that the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council opposed the initial gazettal of Sunnyside, yet the CO status has since remained; and whilst there was a review proposed in 2006, it is interesting to note that the Council at the time stated that ‘opposition was not on moral grounds but due to lack of adequate infrastructure and designation of few beaches to meet demand (in particular, those closer to Metropolitan Melbourne)’.
From my experience and from a lot of feedback I’ve heard and read from Sunnyside regulars, access to the beach seems to be an ongoing issue; because, yes, it does lack that adequate infrastructure to make it more easily accessible.
As naturists, safety and security on our beaches is a priority. Unfortunately, our beaches are often neglected, isolated and difficult to access…making it difficult to patrol and tend to.
With Sunnyside’s super narrow and rocky path that is not easy to traverse at times, I can see why police might have difficulty effectively patrolling the beach at times. So, if safety is a major concern for the Council and the local police (just like it is for us naturists too), shouldn’t we consider implementing the infrastructure needed to make the beach more easily accessible for those ‘regular patrols’? If this can help police to monitor the beach more effectively, wouldn’t improved infrastructure be a course of action to seriously consider, rather than just seeking to revoke the CO status which fails to address the specific concerns outlined by the Council (as pictured above)? Regardless of whether or not Sunnyside retains its CO status, shouldn’t the safety of all beach-goers (clothed or not) be a priority for the council anyway?
At the end of the day, us naturists would like the Council to know that we, too, value having safe beaches to enjoy…even more so because it’s not like we can just go and get naked on any stretch of beach, not even the one just a few hundred meters away from the one we’re currently enjoying. No. We have so few options to choose from when it comes to enjoying a beach clothes-free; and so we do not take these threats lightly.
Whilst, unfortunately, inappropriate behaviour can occur on any beach (textile or clothing-optional), when the reputation of our clothing-optional beaches are compromised by ‘inappropriate behaviour’ by those who have a misguided perception, it jeopardises the status of the very few and limited beaches we have available for us to enjoy non-sexual nudity. We (naturists), if anyone, have more to lose and, thus, more motivation to keep our beaches safe; and so we urge the Council to consider working with the local naturist community and local police to keep this beach a safe place for all…naturists, locals and textiles alike.
Locals want ‘their’ beach back…but there is still plenty of Sunnyside Beach left for them
As for the ‘local’ argument, it’s important to keep in mind that only 500 meters of the northern end (and the much more isolated part of and not-so-easy-to-get-to end) of Sunnyside Beach is designated clothing-optional. Just south of the CO section and right in front of the car park (where it’s just steps to the textile beach and not some 250 meter rocky path you need to traverse) is, what do you know, Sunnyside Beach! A great place locals can enjoy ‘their’ beach…without being surrounded by naked people or having to compete for space on the sand with a heap of rocks.
With Sunnyside North (the CO section) being a rather isolated beach which is super discreet and not at all obvious, it is not one of those beaches that textiles just unknowingly stumble across and get offended over. You have to trek to get to the CO section…and it is marked with very clear signage…in the car park, and at both ends of the beach! So if you end up there, it’s more than likely because you wanted to!
One of the downsides I found at Sunnyside (which were few and far between) was that the beach, itself, is full of rocks. I mean, on this particular day I went, I had trouble finding a patch of sand where I could lay my towel down without laying on some part of a rock! I would also say that the fact that the foreshore was also lined with a plethora of sharp rocks means that it may not be as child-friendly as the textile section of the beach. Plus, it’s nowhere near as convenient a beach to get to and enjoy as the one right in front of the car park!!!
So please, let us have our section of beach where we’re not offending anyone.
Victoria’s not-so-promising history with nude beaches
Going off of a not-so-far-away history, having similarly attained it’s former clothing-optional status in 1986, the revocation of the clothing-optional status of Campbell Cove back on 1 September 2015, under the same and current Minister for Planning, Richard Wynne MP, serves to act as a stark reminder of a history that hasn’t gone in the favour of the naturist community previously. So, of course, you can understand that, for the many Sunnyside regulars, the looming threat is very real.
With previous sentiment over the revocation of the clothing-optional status of Campbell Cove reflecting that of “Campbells Cove offered a privacy to bathers which simply isn’t available any more, with more families moving to the area.” We know that Sunnyside does not, at all, reflect a similar sentiment as it is very private and is discreetly situated. We know that there is still a generous amount of Sunnyside Beach left for locals to enjoy (the much more convenient, beach-friendly and accessible part too); and all whilst the clothing-optional section remains private and out-of-the-way so that there are no surprises for textile bathers. So, many of us are left wondering what the real motive is behind this recent decision to review and lobby for the removal of its CO status.
What’s the next step?
The Mornington Peninsula Council will be meeting again on 8 February 2022 to likely move the motion to start the process of a very limited and super localised engagement campaign which more than likely excludes most of the naturist community who actually make use of this beach.
So, we need to act now and act quickly to put pressure on the Council to consider a consultation process that involves the wider community as well as the local naturist community who have been enjoying this beach for years…for the implications of revoking the CO status serve to impact the local naturist community the most.
With only 3 legal clothing-optional beaches left in Victoria…we hope that the Council’s motion does not result in 2…
You can livestream their upcoming meeting on 8 February, beginning at 5.30pm AEDT, via the link below
Mornington Peninsula Shire Council Meeting - 8 February 2022
*it will be item 3.4 as per their Council Meeting Agenda for 8 February
Access the 8 February Council Meeting Agenda via the link below - scroll to pages 24-27
Council Committee Meeting Agendas and Minutes
You can also view the 1 November 2021 Council Meeting Minutes when Cr Steve Holland gave notice of his intention to move NOM 317 which seeks a “course of action for community consultation on a proposal that asks the State Government to remove the clothing optional status of Sunnyside Beach in Mount Eliza”. (Scroll to item 5.3 on pages 64-66)
You can also view the livestream of the 1 November 2021 Council meeting via the link below
Mornington Peninsula Shire Council Meeting livestream - 1 November 2021
*minutes of relevance: 2:45:32 - 3:02:35 (17 minute watch) *click ‘Item 5.3 - NOM 317’ in the description section to go straight to NOM 317
SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:: On 6 December 2021, the Member for Nepean, Chris Brayne MP, put up a poll on his official FaceBook page seeking community feedback about the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council’s decision to seek to potentially lobby the State Government to have the CO status of Sunnyside revoked. There was an overwhelming response, and a seemingly resounding ‘yes’ from the wider community to keep it CO.
ACTION PLAN: SO, WHAT CAN YOU DO? COURSES OF ACTION YOU CAN TAKE:
Yes, I’m putting this in here again.
Share this blog!!!
Like and share my YouTube video ‘Nude Beaches of Australia - Sunnyside Beach: a nude beach under threat’
Like @keepsunnysideclothingoptional on FaceBook to stay up-to-date with the latest on this issue and to get even more informed about the current matters surrounding the potential revocation of Sunnyside’s clothing-optional status. This page also provides plenty of resources on how you can help in this advocacy campaign, with relevant contacts for the Council and all.
Follow @savesunnyside on Instagram
If you are a resident of the Mornington Peninsula Shire, local to the Mount Eliza area (where Sunnyside is located), a constituent of the Mornington Electorate, or an out-of-town visitor/naturist who supports the local economy and small business within the area when you do visit Sunnyside Beach…I would encourage you to send an email in support of keeping Sunnyside clothing-optional to the following Councillors (just copy and paste the email addresses below into the ‘to:’ section when creating the email…
anthony.marsh@mornpen.vic.gov.au, lisa.dixon@mornpen.vic.gov.au, sarah.race@mornpen.vic.gov.au, Antonella.Celi@mornpen.vic.gov.au, david.gill@mornpen.vic.gov.au, steve.holland@mornpen.vic.gov.au, kerri.mccafferty@mornpen.vic.gov.au, debra.mar@mornpen.vic.gov.au, paul.mercurio@mornpen.vic.gov.au, susan.bissinger@mornpen.vic.gov.au
*feel free to use whatever content from this blog post that you need, but please make it personal. I was going to make a template, but we’re looking for quality over quantity at this stage of the process. Also, the more local you are to the area, the better.
Get informed via all of the information I’ve provided above! It’s all there in writing.
Please share and spread the word so that we have the best chance possible of saving Sunnyside.
I, and the naturist community, appreciate anything you can do to support this cause.
With love,
Jessa
Xx