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FREE BEACH News |
May - June, 1996 |
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FREE BEACH GROUP Inc |
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PO Box 30-099 LOWER HUTT |
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Nominations...
Now is the time to submit nominations for the 1996-97 National Committee.
Our new Constitution has been registered with the Registrar of Incorporated Societies, and a copy has been included with this newsletter. The new Constitution includes provision for the election of members of the National Committee by postal voting.
This begins by the calling for nominations.
Enclosed with this newsletter is a Nomination Form for the purpose of submitting nominations for the 1996-97 National Committee. Positions to be filled include President, Secretary, Treasurer, and five other committee members. As stated in the Constitution, the Vice President(s) will be appointed by the new Committee. All nominations must include the name of the person nominated, the nominator and the seconder, and the signatures of all three members. Nominations must be received no later than 15 June 1996. Any nomination which does not meet these requirements will be invalid.
Nominations will be published in the July-August newsletter. Because of the dispersed nature of our membership, it would be an advantage to include a brief biography with the nominations so that voters can match names with faces or localities. The same newsletter will include Voting Slips, and the results of the election will be published in the September-October newsletter, in time for the Annual General Meeting.
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National Committee President Traven Searle (0061) 7831 1731 Vice President John Groombridge (North Island) (04) 589 5461 Vice President Joyce Fleming (South Island) (03) 322 7990 Secretary Jackie Caldwell
TreasurerJohn Groombridge (04) 589 5461 Members Ian Bushett(04) 237 0193 John Lowe Steve Wilkinson(03) 325 3316 Correspondence should be mailed to the official FBG address |
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LOCAL CONTACTS Auckland Jan Winn (09) 482 0134 Tauranga Ted Lidgard (07) 542 2344 Waikato Roger Morris (07) 856 8857 Taranaki John Lowe (06) Hawkes Bay Butch Hickmott (06) 835 7146 Sthn Hawkes Bay Hugh Bowles (06) 374 6238 Wellington Meryl Baker (04) 528 7010 Linda Geeves (04) 478 4820 Christchurch Joyce Fleming (03) 322 7990 Steve Wilkinson (03) 325 3316 |
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It is intended that this Newsletter will be the forum for the expression of ideas, opinions, and criticism; and therefore may not represent official policy.
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FREE BEACH News |
May - June, 1996 |
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Page 2 |
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Naturism
A year ago, I took out from the library a book entitled "The Attentive Heart" by California environmentalist Stephanie Kaza. It is about man's relationship with trees and the natural world, illustrated with hand-printed lithographs. So enthralled was I by the physical quality of the book as well as i1s philosophy that I phoned up the bookshop and ordered a copy. It was a book that I needed to possess, but little did I dream that I myself would ever visit the places and the trees which the author describes with such feeling.
Stephanie Kaza is a naturalist, but to my mind also a naturist, as seen in the following passage where she describes time out from attending a retreat near Mendocino:
Past the lettuce, past the eggplant, past the zucchini, I aim for the faint sound of water over rocks. My feet want to stand in cool water, my hands yearn to splash wetness on my face. Stepping over the cowpies and fallen oak twigs, I leave the path and wander down to a shallow stream. Warm and almost stagnant, the water is barely moving. Near an overhanging alder the creek is a foot deep; I slip out of my meditation clothes and into my fish body. Wriggling, squirming, splashing, cleansing-for a few moments the existence of suffering is a distant thought. The tension of human confusion slides away; I bask in the apparent simplicity of animal life.
Stretching out in the midday sun, I let go of the strain of knowing so much and paying attention with such discipline. I catnap on the warm rocks, resting like a lizard. Wavering on the edge of consciousness, my mind drifts with the sounds of the stream and the warmth of the sun. Thoughts skim across the surface, finding no anchoring place in the pond of my imagination. The tension of acting/not acting is swallowed up in a cat's yawn as I turn on my back to face the full sun.
Right now, as you read this in the May newsletter, my partner, Bertie, and I will be in California, exploring the forests of the giant redwoods (sequoia) which are the largest living beings on earth, and the oldest.
We will let you know later whether the beaches of California are warmer than those of Canterbury! and whether the grisly bear country of Western Canada is as friendly as our own Fred Bear.
Joyce Fleming
DEADLINE for the next FREE BEACH News will be 15 June, 1996 |
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FREE BEACH News |
May - June, 1996 |
Page 3 |
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A NEWS STORY FROM CHRISTCHURCH.
They say there's no such thing as bad publicity. Although some of us were dismayed by headlines which were prominent on the front page of the Christchurch "STAR", I offer this sequence of cuttings as an example of how bad news can be turned into good.
STAR 17/2/96 Naked affront
An elderly Christchurch woman who encountered two naked men at South New Brighton beach on Sunday night said she was tempted to set her dogs on them. The 73-year-old woman, who did not want to be named, said she was exercising her dogs when she noticed a man lying further up the beach who appeared to have no clothes on. "I thought, if he's not naked, he's got very flesh-coloured swimming logs." By the time she realised he was "starkers", her golden retriever, who had a friendly nature, had approached the man. The woman said that when she drew near to fetch her dog, she was offended by the man's behaviour. "He sat up, leaned back on his elbows and exposed his genitals to me - and he was in an excited condition. I should have set the dogs on it." The woman ignored the man and continued on her way, deeming it to be an isolated incident. But a short time later she encountered a second naked male. "I looked out to sea and saw another bare bottom. I thought, have I stumbled across a nudist colony?" The woman was told by another person on the beach that the presence of nude sunbathers and swimmers was becoming increasingly common in the area. She said she was angry about the situation and concerned for other women and children visiting the beach. "Suppose it had been a little girl of six or eight years approaching the sunbather to fetch her puppy dog - would he have done the same thing? It's not on." "It's very pleasant to swim naked... but you don't do it at a public beach." Police said any person caught naked in a public place could be charged with indecent exposure or disorderly behaviour. |
There was a delay in printing our letters, In the meantime, another headline appeared (see over).
Nude on beach Sir - I wish to comment on misleading information reportedly stated by the police in the item "naked affront on city beach." The article said in part: "Police said any person caught naked in a public place could be charged with indecent exposure or disorderly behaviour." This is only partly true. As the law stands it is legal to be naked on South Brighton beach, and most beaches. Public nudity is legal on beaches where nude sunbathing is not uncommon. This information comes from the 1991 High Court decision. - GEORGE A NORTH. Chch Star 6/3/96 |
'Not illegal' Sir - February 18 was an exceptionally warm day and it is not surprising that many people chose to go to the beach, including the minority who preferred to swim or sunbathe "au naturel." According to a report in the Star (February 21) an elderly woman who preferred not to be named said that she was tempted to set the dogs on someone because he was naked. Many people nowadays find it enjoyable and healthy to swim, walk or sunbathe without clothes. Should such people be charged with offensive behaviour? No. A recent court case in the North Island has shown that "where nude sunbathing is not uncommon, it is not illegal." Nakedness is not in itself indecent or threatening, and is not an offence. By the same token, walking the dog is not an offence, unless the dog, is uncontrolled and threatening. To have remote beaches designated for nude recreation and skinny-dipping would not be a good thing. Such places would attract the interest of prurient sightseers and other undesirables. An incorporated society which exists for the promotion of clothes-optional recreation at beaches and other appropriate locations is The Free Beach Group Inc. PO Box 30099 Lower Hutt. There are branches throughout New Zealand. - JOYCE FLEMING. |
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FREE BEACH News |
May - June, 1996 |
Page 4 |
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Nudity inaction irks complainant
By Wendy Redhead A Christchurch man who complained to police about a naked surfer on a public beach is "livid" about police handling of his complaint. Clifton resident John Spencer contacted the Star after reading an article in the newspaper about two nudists at South Brighton beach. Mr Spencer said when he complained about a naked surfer at Taylors Mistake beach a woman police officer insinuated that he would not have bothered complaining if the surfer had been a woman. |
Mr Spencer said he had been offended by the surfers nudity, but on laying a complaint, had been "fobbed off" by the police. The incident occurred on a day when the beach was crowded. "There were kids and everything, and this guy of about 40 was surfing naked on the beach right in front of us. "There were a lot of families upset by it." Mr Spencer said be laid a complaint with the police at 4.40pm that day and was "bloody livid" about the response. "I was told to go and sit on it as far as the police were concerned." |
I spoke to a female duty constable and she said to me, 'You are being a bit prejudiced aren't you? If it was a woman, you wouldn’t be complaining'." "I said that was not true. It makes no difference to me. There were thousands and thousands of people there and he was blatantly breaking the law. "The police just fobbed me off. Saying that they will prosecute is a load of rubbish - nobody wanted to know." Mr Spencer said the officer recorded his name and number, but he had heard nothing more about the matter. |
It's just been dumped in the too bloody hard basket." Lyttleton acting sergeant Eddy Soppet said he was unable to find any record of the complaint to establish if the matter had been investigated. He said nudists in public places could be prosecuted for indecent exposure - depending on the circumstances and if any complaints were laid. He said it appeared there had been grounds for charges to be laid in the case at Taylor's Mistake. "It does appear the surfer could well have been committing an offence." |
Yes, well, these headlines began to irk us since none of our letters had been published to date. However, a word with the Editor got things moving in our favour, as our letters appeared in successive editions, plus this item in his Editorial.
Nude bathing "Sir" - I find your article regarding the nude bather misleading, and the fact that it was on the front page, objectionable. It is perfectly legal for a person to be nude on a public beach. It is the conduct of the person (whether nude or clothed) that could be subject to legal action. Acting Sergeant Eddy Soppet should have known and explained this. There is nothing in the article to suggest the bather was breaking the law. This is reinforced by the fact that nothing was apparently done about the complaint. If police do not act legally, they risk a complaint to the Police Complaints Authority. John Spencer's confession and his "bloody livid" reaction could be construed as harassment and the bather would then be entitled to legal redress. He obviously assumes nakedness on a public beach is illegal. Ignorance is no excuse in civil law. - G W SIM. 16-3-96 |
Editorial, Chch "Star" 9/3/96 Skinny-dipping
Once a summer or so reports are received of people at popular beaches taking a dip in the altogether. A report of an encounter between a clothed and an unclothed person at New Brighton is a case in point. Generally the views held by the respective parties are poles apart. The New Brighton incident is no exception. While the legal position is probably debatable, a court ruling in the North Island notwithstanding, the real issue for those keen to bathe nude is one of maintaining reasonable taste and keeping the problem of offensiveness to a minimum. Surely common sense and a live-and-let-live attitude can be satisfactorily combined. |
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Skinny-dipping Sir - Skinny-dipping is not illegal, although police statements as reported in the Star (February 21 and March 2) give the impression that it is. Skinny-dipping in the sea and direct contact with the elements give a great feeling of well-being and exhilaration. Having a clammy, wet costume clinging to one's torso does not. Take your choice. Fortunately the law in New Zealand allows us to do just that. - JOYCE FLEMING, South Island vice president Free Beach Group. |
Perhaps in time, people such as the complainants here will learn that nudity on the beach is, in fact, nothing to get alarmed about. In short, that clothes-optional is O.K. Joyce Fleming. |
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FREE BEACH News |
May - June, 1996 |
Page 5 |
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Self Abuse We've heard it all before - if we fight among ourselves, we'll fall apart. This we know, yet this we still do. I am as much to blame as any. I keep spending too much energy defending MY point of view "in-house". Where the energy that is needed, is "out there" spreading the message - isn't it? Well, that is our "Mission" isn't it! But what's happening OUT THERE? Out there in domestic blissland. You know - among those that vote, when they can be dragged away from their teIly. Well, among other things they are being protected: shielded - from the likes of us. Us: the bare-bums. There exists, you may have noticed, this thing labelled the Broadcasting Standards Authority. Being an Authority, it must KNOW, in order to competently authorise what the couch potatoes are permitted to see or not see; in the privacy of their own living rooms. In these days of de-regulation, everyone for themselves and SPF15+; we're all busy - not only chasing the next dollar, but (especially in the case of the nudists) more members. How? Well, getting yourself on the telly is a good ploy. And thus, on the club scene anyway, it came to pass: in Auckland and Christchurch this year. Great: all publicity is good publicity - eh, Delia! But, what message did we actually get across? Unfortunately, especially in the case of the Auckland event on TV2 Newsnight, there is no publicly perceived (or admitted) difference between us bare-bums on the telly and those who are likely to be the targets of Hard Copy style interest: sleaze. Both are treated the same: both have their "naughty bits" blocked from view. Well a naughty bit is a bit naughty, isn't it? So it's only right to block it: regardless - so assumes TVNZ. Well, I argued the toss about that with this Broadcasting Standards Authority. I said they, as The Authority, must follow their common sense as guided by my rational and comprehensive arguments as to why they should accept the findings of the Indecent Publications Tribunal in 1968 - the decision which allowed the Naturist to be published without "re-touching", and to be freely available to children. That is: that media depiction of innocent nudity is "unexceptionable" - "G" certificate stuff. I showed that there had been no complaints about documentaries on nudist tribes in Africa; or any problem with Desmond Morris' Human Animal. I pointed out their own research shows that the only group in the community who thinks they should be able to direct what's permitted: the evangelical Christians; actually accept innocent nudity in an educational context. (The Authority, however, we now see, sits to the right of that view!) Thus the case was made for The Authority to find the "masking of non-sexual nudity to be discriminatory, dishonest and unacceptable". |
With little ado they responded:- "The Authority notes the sun club members spoken to during the item do not practise nudity when not in the sun club environment. Indeed one member referred to the joy of dressing for dinner. It was apparent that the members were members because they seemed to get pleasure in sunbathing naked and had chosen an environment where they could do so with people of similar interests. For example, another member spoke of the unwanted attention to which nudists might be subject at "free" beaches. In other words, the members could not be regarded as exhibitionists. They wished only to enjoy the delights in sunbathing and socialising naked when among those with a similar interest. They did not want to flaunt their nudity as such. "Given this scenario the Authority considers the use of the graphic hand to cover the genitalia and pubic areas of the members of the sun club was an appropriate technique for TVNZ to use. Whether of the innocent sun club variety or the lascivious strip club style, the widespread public portrayal of nudity is not expected and, the Authority concludes, the broadcast did not breach the nominated standards." So there's the sum total of what The Authority knows of us. Even as exhibitionists we wouldn't be allowed to "wave penises about on national television" as TVNZ put it, simply on the grounds that it is "not expected". (Neither, I'd've thought, is the actual killing of someone on screen, but that's been done - without commercials: also unexpected.) WE KNOW that nudity is not sex. They still don't. It is surely obvious that a commonly assumed or accepted falsehood, will raise the stress in the community of its currency. Do we really need that right now? What are we doing about it? As far as I know we have only a couple of members in Christchurch setting the record straight in the newspaper there, when necessary. The Magazine article in Wellington's Evening Post featuring Breaker Bay was fortuitous. But no one wants to know elsewhere, especially Auckland. To quote Pink Floyd: "Is there anybody out there?" If this recent compliance with the American Way remains unquestioned, it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy: unmasked non-sexual nudity on the telly is no longer expected here, merely because the Americans don't permit it! Now it has become not accepted by THE AUTHORITY, next it will be just: not permitted. (Does anyone remember how the British video maker David Ball lauded the open attitude of public broadcasting in this country just five years ago?) There was a week-long conference on rape, in Wellington recently. I can show that a little more unmasked, innocent nudity on the telly will result in less rape and child molestation. Unfortunately though, there is a generational time span to consider. Continued next page... |
FREE BEACH News |
May - June, 1996 |
Page 6 |
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Self Abuse continued... [Naturist 158 version] Isn't it time we, the bare-bummed; began to realise AND PROCLAIM our potential value to the couch potatoes? Particularly those who haven't time to rush all that way out to the beach or club, after church; to relax. We are the victims of our own apathy. The price of freedom is indeed, eternal vigilance. Anything else becomes eventually: self abuse. So there: that's my point of view. However, being one of those terribly rational persons who always admits when they're mistaken: I'm willing to be proved wrong. Go on - show me. John Lowe Children must be protected from the sight of the human form. It's OK to display animals copulating on TV, it's OK to display humans copulating on TV, even violence is OK; but the vision of an unclothed human body is not OK. It's not natural is it? Editor
Easter at Rotota About twenty members gathered for an enjoyable Easter Weekend at Rotota Sun Club. The weather did not dampen the spirits and activities which included visits to the "Hot & Cold" lake-side spot. The arrival of "boaties" added to the entertainment. On Saturday evening more than 100 queued up for a generous serving of roast pork, roast potatoes, and vegetables.
Thank you Tony We are indebted to Tony Wilson (a Life Member of the Group) for regularly going to our St Lukes postal box and forwarding our mail to Lower Hutt. Because of our long standing use of Box 41-171 St Lukes, we continue to use it as our official address. Thank you Tony.
Lost a Camera? A camera has been found at Ngatuhoa Lodge. If any one has lost their camera, send a description to the Secretary, PC Box 30-099, LOWER HUTT. |
Christchurch Activities As reported elsewhere Joyce, will be enjoying a well earned northern hemisphere summer holiday as you read this; so Christchurch members wanting to know what has been arranged in her absence are asked to phone Steve Wilkinson at 03 325 3316. If you have some ideas, maybe you could pass them onto Steve.
Visiting Wellington? Wellington members invite visitors to the region to join them at their regular monthly Swim nights and Spa Evenings. Swim nights are every second Sunday of the month (until November) at Cannon's Creek Pool, Bedford Street, Porirua. From 6pm to 8pm, bring something to barbecue. The spas are on the forth Saturday each month at the Kilbirnie Aquatic Centre from 6pm to 7pm. There's a "KFC" nearby for a snack afterwards. Phone Linda at 478 4820 for more details.
Space Available We hope you enjoy reading the newsletter, and find the articles of interest. There is space available for you to share your stories and interests with others. Send your material typed, hand written, or preferably on a floppy disk (IBM ASCII text file). If you use a word processor, you create an ASCII text file by "Exporting" your document. This will be found under the "File" or "Print" options.
Ngatuhoa 97 Ngatuhoa 97 will be from Saturday 18 January to Monday 27 January 1997. |
FREE BEACH News
This Newsletter is intended to be an open forum and has been compiled from information supplied by members. If you have any topics of interest to share with others, or if you have any ideas or concerns, now is your opportunity to express them. All material contained in this Newsletter is Copyright. Editors wishing to reprint any item in part or whole are invited to contact the Editor for permission, and any conditions which may apply.
Contributions/correspondence may be sent direct to the Editor,
John Groombridge, PO Box 30-099, LOWER HUTT
