To the devastation of its visitors, a nudist beach in Byron Bay is looking like it’s going to have to close up shop next month. Whoever made this decision better watch out, ‘cos you never know what a nudist is going to have up their sleeve.
Tyagarah Beach has been operating as a clothing-free beach space since 1998, and is one of the only remaining nudist beaches left in New South Wales.
However in its current outlook, as of April 8 the beach will no longer allow nudist attendees due to a decision made by NSW Parks and Wildlife Service.
In response to the decision, supporters of the clothing optional policy have started a Change.org petition against the closure of the nudist beach.
The petition is directed to NSW Parliament’s Minister for the Environment, Penny Sharpe, and says that: “Nude recreation is a legitimate way of life, and the local community, interstate and international visitors have the right to some public space where this freedom can be expressed.”
The petition currently has over 2000 signatures, with a goal of 2500.
The NSW Parks and Wildlife Service were able to revoke Tyagarah Beach’s nudist-accepting policy due to a loophole that meant the beach actually came under NSW Parks’ jurisdiction. Until the ownership was discovered through a land-survey, it was believed to be under the jurisdiction of Byron Bay Shire Council.
Last December NSW Parks contacted the Byron Bay Shire Council to tell them the clothing optional policy was “not consistent with the values the reserve is managed under” and that the “continuation of a clothes optional area in Tyagarah Nature Reserve is not supported by NPWS”.
The recommendation encouraged the Bryon Bay Shire Council to make the beach a clothing-not-optional beach by April 8.
In a statement from a NSW Parks spokesperson, the state service said it “will continue to work with relevant stakeholders to identify alternative locations for the activity to take place.”
On Thursday February 22 the Byron Bay Shire Council will make a vote on if it will continue the clothing optional policy.
This is not the first time the council will have faced pressure to change the nudist beach’s rules.
In 2018 after receiving numerous complaints about lewd behaviour and sex pests heavily populating the beach, the council chose instead to increase security measures at the beach.
