# 109 - June 1984 

At the end of March my wife and I flew to Noumea and stayed on M'Ba Island, the following are extracts from a diary I kept during our visit.

UTA French Airlines flight 581 is a connecting flight from Tahiti to Auckland to Noumea. As my wife, Ian, and I have experienced on similar connecting flights, it help to like cigarette smoke because you inevitably end up sitting in the smoking section. The Captain apologises for the late departure, all of five minutes, because of an Air New Zealand catering strike. Having never flown UTA before it is interesting, if not slightly amusing, to hear everything said twice - first in French and then in English.

It made me wonder what it was going to be like communicating in Noumea itself, since I never took French at school and Jan's understanding of the language is restricted to the school book.

Talk about filling in forms! Already we have completed embarkation forms for N.Z. Customs and two more forms - one from UTA headed "Getting to know you Better" and a French questionnaire (in English) similar to the N.Z. Customs form.

Lunch is served and enjoyed, being a lettuce salad, hot meat and potato, dessert of sponge cake and coffee, not to forget the bun and New Zealand butter and cheese.

The weather in Noumea is perfect, a sunny day at 30°C and very humid. Standing in queues seems to be a habitual problem o travelling by air, and immigration at Noumea airport is no exception.

Thankfully, Hibiscus Tours, the tour co-ordinators for M'Ba Island, are waiting for us with a courtesy car to take us into our hotel, The Noumea Village Hotel. The speed limit on the open road is 110 km and the drive takes almost an hour from the airport.

Just before reaching the city limits, we stop at a toll booth and pay to use the road we have just been on, because this road is a special short route. The longer free route takes twice as long to drive.

Christianne Plancade

The Noumea Village Hotel is in the centre of town. It is a very pleasant hotel with its own swimming pool and air conditioned rooms - very essential to escape the heat.

The rooms are furnished with the necessary furniture and fittings, which at least ensure a comfortable nights sleep.

We spend a short while out walking around the shops which seem to be spaced out around the town and don't follow any necessary logical order. Oh well, this is Noumea.

The prices seem to be very similar to New Zealand, if not slightly more expensive. So far communication with the locals has presented no real problem as most understand some English.

Dinner is enjoyed at a small Vietnamese restaurant down the road from the Hotel. The manager-cum-chef is obviously Vietnamese but speaks French and a little English. This does not provide as many problems as I thought it could, and the total bill for the evening including wine is 3475 Fr. (approx N.Z. $36.00)

The morning's breakfast is continental - what else? It's available from 6.30 a.m. It pays to be early as the boat leaves at 8.00 a.m. for the 1 hour 40 minutes trip to M'Ba Island. Hibiscus Tours are once again back at the hotel to transfer us down to the harbour to meet the M'Ba Island launch.

The launch is an ex-New Zealand pilot launch "Hoki-Mai"and travels at a comfortable speed through normally calm waters, very good for someone super-susceptible to seasickness. Christianne Plancade, president of the Noumea Nudist Federation, is our host. Christianne is in his mid 30's and has been the main driving force behind the M'Ba Island development. We were only a short distance out when we knew we were with friends, because everybody removed their clothing to enjoy the spectacular weather. The "Hoki-Mai" is a very smooth riding launch, providing a pleasant trip out, past the harbour and heads, to the coral island of M'Ba.

Due to the coral reefs we have to anchor about 500 metres off shore and are ferried the rest of the way in a run-about, along with all the food and water as everything is brought to the Island. The Noumea Nudist Federation has the total use of one end of M'Ba Island. The other end is occasionally used by fishermen, otherwise the island is a Nudist paradise. M'Ba must be one of the few places where nudists can be modern-day Robinson Crusoes without a care in the world.

The main dining hall area also serves as the bar and the main congregation place for the Island. It was constructed by the local Melanesian Islanders in their native style, with bamboo walls and thatched roof but with a modern concrete floor. It provides welcome shade from the ever-present sun.

A slow walk around the island takes 40 minutes and allows you to appreciate the care that has been taken in setting out the buildings so that they blend into the natural island vegetation.

Small 'A' frame single room buildings supply the sleeping accommodation (with room for four if necessary), constructed on 2 levels, closed in on top for sleeping, open below and provided with deck chairs for relaxation.

They are spaced out with trees in between and all within metres of the sandy beach. All meals are provided while on M'Ba Island as part of the total package deal.

The meals are a mixture of European and French menus with everything from vegetable salads to roast dinners.

For those who want physically stimulating entertainment, there is a concrete Miniten court, Archery, Volley Ball court, Table Tennis and even Chinese Checkers. Out from the island diving and snorkeling is provided. In this wonderful tropical weather sunbathing and swimming seem to be the most obvious pastimes.

After a brief shower early this morning, the weather is again perfectly sunny and beautifully warm. While others are deciding where to fish, we have decided to sunbathe and enjoy a swim in the sparkling clear waters that surround M'Ba Island.

Scuba diving is available for the experienced and the amateur with qualified instructors available. Spear fishing is available 15 to 40 metres off the reefs.

There is an abundant supply of fish swimming around the reef and even the occasional harmless reef shark.

It is,with regret we leave this tropical island paradise and board the Hoki-Mai for our journey back to the mainland and Noumea. Hibiscus Tours are once again on hand to meet us. They suggest we may like to try some of their other tours, including half-day tours such as the Flora and Fauna Tour, where high in the mountains the MONT-KOGHI lookout is an ideal place to enjoy an exceptional panorama over Noumea and the Great Barrier coral reef. You will take an interesting walk through the tropical rain forest where you can see the fantastic green and dense vegetation. You will also visit the botanical gardens, discovering the national bird (the Cagou) and hundreds of species of animals and flowers. Or you can take the Sunday Special where you will be driven to Nouville, also called Ile Nou, which used to be an island where the first prisons were built to receive political prisoners that were sent to New Caledonia in the 1880's, when New Caledonia first became a French territory. A delicious lunch will be served at the Kuemdu Beach restaurant, located on one of the most beautiful beaches in the country.

Then there are full-day tours to the popular Isle of Pines. You will be picked up at your hotel to take a domestic flight from Magenta airport. After 30 minutes flight over the clear lagoon waters you reach the Isle of Pines.

Transfer to the main bay (Kuto Bay) for swimming, snorkeling and relaxing, before enjoying a seafood lunch. After lunch sight-seeing by bus to the main points of the island.

Then there is the delightful cruise to Amedee Island located just inside the Barrier Reef which is dominated by the third highest lighthouse in the world. See magnificent corals and brilliantly coloured tropical fish from a glass-bottom boat, climb the lighthouse, relax on the white sand beach or swim in the crystal clear water. You will enjoy a barbecue lunch, which includes aperitif and wines, served in the shade of the trees at the foot of the lighthouse.

Hibiscus Tours provides us with their courtesy car to delivery us to Tontouta International Airport. The airport is well appointed with restaurant and bar facilities and large check-in and arrival lounges. Our first impressions of the airport were the opposite though, and it wasn't until we cleared customs and went into the departure lounge that we found the duty free shops and bar areas.

Thankfully we managed to be allocated seats in the non-smoking section, and this along with a much needed meal, provided an enjoyable flight back to Auckland and home with memories of a pacific paradise, M'Ba Island.

The island of Lanzarote is part of the Canary Islands. Flying time from Amsterdam to the capital of this island which is Arrecife takes about 4 hours, the capital has a population of 23,000 inhabitants.

When we landed the sun was shining and a strong wind was blowing, which is typical for all the Canary Islands. The airport looks neat and clean.

The only naturist resort on this island is called 'Charco Del Palo" which is located about 25 kilometres north east of Arrecife along the coast. There is a bus going in that direction but that is only a couple of times a day, so its best to take a taxi, taxis are very cheap so for about $10 it takes you all the way from the airport to the club which is about 25 kilometres.

When we reached the village of Mala we turned right and had a fairly rough road for about 3 kilometres till we hit the entrance.

We were welcomed by the manager and his wife and got a very nice apartment on the ground floor overlooking the swimming pool.

The coastline is very rough and rocky, but they have very nicely laid out a beach with a large pond you could say is connected with the sea, its smartly done indeed, also some umbrella's to sit under when it gets too hot, but it really never gets too hot on the Canary Islands as quite often a strong north-easterly wind is blowing which keeps the temperature quiet pleasant, but watch out for burning, especially the very few first days, it can be dangerous sun and wind for a tender skin.

On the grounds you will also find a swimming pool, a supermarket, a bit expensive so some of the people walked to the village of Mala to get things for half the price, also a Spanish restaurant and a German one. There is also a playground for the kiddies.

There are about 44 apartments and 7 bungalows which are spacious and well furnished, they plan to extend these in the future to about 300 beds.

A walk along the coast to the former naturist village of Los Cocoteros can be easily made, its about 2 kilometres. "Los Cocoteros" was a large village and went broke, it's partly ruins now, but one can still see that it must of been a lovely place to be at, right now some spanish people still live there and many of the bungalows are for sale, its always sad to see something go down the drain after a grand start, but one sees this quite often in Spain, from a distance it may look like a large village but upon getting closer a lot of buildings are only half completed due to lack of finances.

(Top)

INF Congress Set for Spain

The 1984 biannual congress of the International Naturist Federation will be held at Costa Natura on the Costa del Sol (Spain's Riviera) near Malaga, Spain over the weekend of September 14 to 16 1984.

The previous INF Congress was held at Cypress Cove, Fla. in 1982. It was well attended by foreign delegates and visitors and American nudists who were experiencing their first exposure to international nudism since 1968 when Penn-Sylvan hosted the first ever INF Congress on American soil.

The 1982 congress was described by INF President Alan McCombe as the most pleasant, productive and congenial of any in his memory. American nudists who attended the congress were so impressed with the event and the delegates from throughout the world that they immediately began to make plans to attend the next congress in Spain. Some 40 west coast members are planning to travel to Costa Natura next year to attend the congress and tour the many interesting sites in Spain, Portugal, Morocco and throughout Europe.

A current passport is all that is required for travel in most European countries. Your travel agent can advise you which countries require visas and can also provide you with literature about the countries you might visit, all at no charge.

Don't put if off. Begin to plan your travel to Spain and Costa Natura now.

Lanzarote has a population of 50,000 people and more then 300 volcano craters, as a matter of fact the last eruption took place in the year 1824.

Fire mountain is located in the only national park of Lanzarote, a guide leads the cavalcade of cards on a motorcycle, otherwise you sure would get lost and be driving in circles, its certainly worthwhile to take this tour. Near the restaurant you will find a hole in the ground and upon dropping a piece of paper or a little branch it all burns up very soon, in fact you can also roast some meat over it if you wish, but that can be done inside the restaurant.

Renting a car is cheap especially if you rent it for one week about $90.00. Back to "Characo Del Palo" every Thursday they have a grill evening and dance after, arid for new quests every now and then a welcome evening with free sangria and some men with guitars which were singing songs of Lanzarote, Mona and I enjoyed that part very much.

When something breaks down in your apartment they are there in no time to fix it for you.

The island of Lanzarote is not very touristy yet compared to Tenerife and Gran Canary, but I expect this to change during the next 5 to 10 years.

The temperature on the island has a pleasant 27 degrees most of the time due to the strong north-easterly winds.

We also got a visit from the secretary of the Association Naturista De Canaries, Manuel Malian who came from Los Palmas, Cran Canary. He told us about his big plans of opening more naturist resorts on the islands of Fuerteventura and Tenerife, and this year he plans to open Costa Guanche located at the northwestern part of Gran Canary, it will be in the style of the guanches, who used to live in caves, half above and half underground, it will be something special Manuel told us.

About 8 miles north of the village of Mala you will find 2 caves which are of great interest and not to be missed.

If you want sun, rest and relaxation Lanzarote is the island for you.

Brief General History:

January 2 1973, the fourth Annual Meeting of the Australian Nudist Federation was held at Sunseekers (W.A.) with item 18b under General Business being the discussion and subsequent adoption of the official ANF Free Beaches for Australia policy and the acceptance of an ANF free beach definition and symbol of stylised map of Australia (which the ANF retains today and has now come to be our identity). The symbol has been incorporated in bumper stickers for Free Beaches (now a collector's item as no longer available), the ANF sticker and the flag of the Federation.

Delegates returned to home grounds to commence what was to become, for some, a protracted battle.

Despite the South Australian Attorney General's office giving an assurance to the South Australian Free Beach Committee that the Obscenities Act would be reviewed in 1973, it was to take until February 1975 and a Premier of the calibre of Don Dunstan to give Australians their first legal free area at the now well known Maslins Beach.

This decision was of course much to the chagrin of the hard working nudists in Darwin who had fought in and out of the court to be the first to win! Their fully deserved victory was to come later in 1975 with the designation of Casuarina Beach. Kambah Pool (Murrumbidgee River) in Canberra A.C.T. acquired legal status in 1976, followed in late 1976 by the state of New South Wales with beaches of Lady Jane and Reef being proclaimed.

Between 1977 and 1983 Western Australian and Victorian free beach campaigners fought on tirelessly, and eleven years from the introduction of ANF policy, Victoria finally joined with other successful states and territories, with the December 1 1983 announcement of Point Impossible and Point Addis, both in the Geelong region, as legal nude areas.

Victorian Campaign:

Immediately following the fourth ANF Convention Victorian club members became active and supportive of establishing legal free areas. The early days were exciting, busy, full of vigour and enthusiasm, but by the close of the campaign the number of active workers was to dwindle; thankfully the general public as users of unofficial beaches remained consistent, thus displaying to the authorities the need for this recreation and subsequent legislation.

Victorian club members launched Point Impossible in 1973, with media publicity to allow the general public knowledge of the ANF policy and campaign. This particular beach was chosen after close attention to similar areas around our coast. The criteria it met suited the guide lines that were felt necessary for such a facility; i.e. not overlooked from roadway, a reasonable distance from nearest township and assistance if required, sufficient off road car parking, large swimming area with room for expansion.

Action was directed to the State Government, as it was always clear that this was where the final decision lay.

Letters and submissions were prepared and forwarded. Petitions were taken up and presented to Parliament. Questions were continually being asked in Parliament. Most of this was made possible because of personal direct contact with local Members of Parliament, who were later to become Ministers of the Government, and this was to prove our greatest advantage in the end. April 1975 a Gallup Poll showed that 67% agreed legal nude areas should be designated for those choosing to use them.

October 22 1975 the Premier of the day (Mr. Hamer) replied to a question on nude bathing in Victoria, by saying "that people have been bathing nude in groups for many years, and all they have to do is find a secluded place, and no one will bother them". What a red herring this "secluded place" and "no one bother them" was to turn out to be.

In May 1978 the Age Poll showed once again that 67% of the population agreed proclaimed areas should be allowed by law. February 8 1979 the then Minister for Youth Sport & Recreation (Mr. Dixon) had expressed a desire for his Government to declare free areas, and so circulated all Victorian Councils on the matter. The response from the 211 Councils was that whilst 78 disagreed with his idea, 53 did agree, 55 had no comment or firm view, and 25 did not reply at all.

At the end of 1979 the Victorian Development Corporation provided a loan to the Bangalee Nudist Holiday Village (now closed) to assist in provision of additional tourist facilities. Remember this resort allowed nude bathing in the very public Murray River... was this further Government approval? Could we soon expect legal free areas elsewhere?

Further letters and representations for summer of 1979-80 soon revealed the answer - No!

March 1980 the then Premier (Mr. Hamer) in a written reply to the A.N.F.'s request (yet again) for legal areas for Victoria reiterated his October 22 statement (Hansard), and went even further to say "...nude bathing in itself in Victoria is not illegal".

The grey areas surrounding the whole issue of legal nude areas remained for summer of 1980-81. However, nudist families continued to use Point Impossible, Point Addis, Sunnyside and others around the state.

How we were lulled into a false sense of security... the headlines of March 30 1981 in the Geelong Advertiser "Police arrest nudists, 33 charged in blitz" clearly spelled it out and confirmed the original belief held that legislation was absolutely necessary to prevent persecution and prosecution of nudists on beaches... now the fight was really on.

What had happened to all the reassuring words and promises of Government Ministers.

The subsequent court appearances, and further arrests only strengthened the resolve to see justice and freedom restored and legality gained. The continued usage by the public of all unofficial free beaches in Victoria, and in particular at Point Impossible and Point Addis, despite continued police action, was encouraging to say the least. It is interesting to note that this concentrated police action was only occurring in this Geelong region at above named two beaches.

All the activists had to do was convince the Government to legally designate free areas... so an immediate deputation was sought with the Minister for Police regarding the impasse that now existed.

From June 1981 almost until December 1 1983 confusion and indecision was the name of the game. The Police Minister said "...no attention (by police) was being given to Point Impossible because it is a secluded beach which is not easily accessible to the public and no complaints have been received concerning nude bathing there" ...yet, the local police continued to arrest and prosecute persons doing what Government Ministers had said they could do!

July 15 1981 Judge Franich in the Geelong County court hearing an appeal case against a conviction for offensive behaviour at Point Impossible said in his summing up and affirming the conviction and sentence, that "the legislature certainly was not prepared to allow public nudity as it would require only a minor change to the relevant Act". The Barrister advised, out of court that, "you must go to Government and continue to fight to have a decision from them".

During the remainder of 1981 through 1982-83 prosecutions continued. Morale plunged rather low from time to time - but determination was always there - to win! But when?

April 3 1982 - here was great chance, a change of State Government, and remembering that South Australia and New South Wales both had enlightened Labor Premiers - how would John Cain stand up? Provision for legal dress optional recreation had become A.L.P. policy in the mid-70's, so all that was required now was continued pressure to achieve the implementation and the A.N.F. policy would have been won in yet another state of Australia.

What a re-charge this was to the flagging spirits, just the incentive needed to keep going.

The rest is history now, the new Victorian Labor Government did stand up well on this issue, the much awaited legislation has been enacted, and on December 1 1983 it was indeed a pleasure to see the international signs positioned (since removed and damaged numerous times!) and have the first legal skinny dip at Point Impossible, where it all began just eleven years earlier.

To those who were convicted (approximately fifty) and paid fines up to $400 each, plus having a conviction for life, our deepest regret. Sincere appreciation for your stand by all of us.

To those who continued to use beaches even with police action, our gratitude.

To the local Government Ministers and Members of Parliament who never faltered in their support and genuine assistance at all times, our warmest thanks and congratulations for your enlightened actions.

To those enjoying the protection provided by the legislation, do just that, enjoy it, but spare a thank you to your pioneer fellow nudists who believed, who stood up and were counted, who made it happen.

To those who helped me personally, thank you all.

From the Victorian Free Beach Campaign, definite guidelines have become evident, which may assist others pursuing the same path.

*  The most important is selecting the most suitable site (as described earlier) hopefully, this minimises opposition.

*  Launch your site with invitation to media, this allows general public to know about your campaign and establishes a contact base.

*  Continuous usage is paramount. At all costs you have to prove a NEED.

*  Support of local Council is desirable but not necessarily essential.

*  Personal, direct contact with Government Ministers is vital and essential. Obviously you have to establish the party who supports the cause, and has free beaches in their manifesto. Personal contact cannot be stressed enough. Also, if they do not have a free beach policy, set about getting it in their platform... as was done in Victoria!

*  Continuous pressure and lobbying has to be maintained at all levels; this ideally comes from your State/National organisations if you are lucky, from clubs and or individuals. Use everything available to you, local and national press, local Council and community, and of course, the Parliament.

Finally, to Western Australia - keep up your marvellous effort, you will win. To Queensland, get the ball rolling, all free beach users must be protected by the law, not persecuted and discriminated by it. Best of luck!

See you on the legal free beaches one day!

Last week, our Club received membership applications from three single men - not an all time high but about average for the summer months, and we're not the only club to experience a surfeit of applications from single men. Why do so many single men want to join nudist clubs compared with single women?

It can't be because there are more of them, the birth rate runs roughly equal with perhaps a bias in favour of the female sex, so there should be less and not more men than women. A lot of our applications come from retired men. Again, due to a longer life span, there are more elderly ladies around than gentlemen.

Being a family club, we try to keep our numbers of men and women roughly equal, but even so, our ratio of single men to women is three to one, and we must therefore refuse to accept any more applications for membership - unless a single woman joins or one of our men leaves. We try to help by giving a contact number for the other Auckland clubs in the hope that they might have a vacancy, or we suggest that if a lady friend can be found then we would be happy to consider a joint application. However, if the applicant is hoping to meet new friends through joining the club, this might not be much consolation.

Are we fair to ostracise this section of society? Should we rather think of ourselves as performing a social service by giving companionship and a new interest to someone who may be very lonely living on his own and who may be able to give more time to the club than his married counterpart with family responsibilities. That is something that every club must decide for itself depending on its ratio figures and the views of its members.

But where are all the single women? Society has made it difficult for a woman on her own to go out and make new friends, especially of the opposite sex.

Feminine pursuits such as ladies' bowling clubs, craft classes or church groups are perfectly respectable, but a woman may feel she cannot go to a pub or a dance on her own whereas a man has no social stigma attached to his presence in such places on his own. Also, in the violent age in which we live, a woman may think twice about going out at night on her own. These double standards are out of date and out of place in any civilised society but continue to linger on all the same.

A lot of people are nervous enough about social nudity with a partner to give them moral support, so it must be much worse for a single person. Women have also been subjected to much erroneous conditioning that their bodies must be young and slim to be socially acceptable. Nudist clubs also face the disadvantage of the popular misconceptions with which I'm sure you are all familiar.

Perhaps we should embark upon an advertising and education programme among single women. A single male visitor made the interesting suggestion on our last open day that we should consider replying to the lonely hearts adverts in the paper, and let the ladies know that there is a club where a single woman can feel secure and at home as a decent standard of behaviour is expected of its members, where she can meet people of all ages and family circumstances and also get an all over tan at the same time! We were rather taken aback at the time, but the idea could bear some further investigation, as for every woman who joined the club, a vacancy would be created for a single man, subject to your normal selection procedures of course.

In these times of falling membership figures, we would be delighted to know the outcome if your club decides to try this method of recruitment.

THE ORCHARD SUN CLUB INC.

A very happy and belated New year to one and all.

Let's hope that this year will bring many sunny days and faces to our garden of Eden, as we have again so much to offer visitors and members alike. This last year was another year of very hard work on the part of our members, to restore our club to its former glory, with many unsung heroes working quietly in the background. Large earth works have been undertaken by our intrepid work crew with pleasing results. We now sport another lovely sheltered barbeque area and with a little more work enough flat land for future requirements. Our kitchen and ablution blocks have been given a real face lift and are now a real credit. We have had many enjoyable days at the club grounds this summer with numerous members and visitors staying overnight on the grounds. Even though we, as yet, have not been able to rebuild our club house, the people who stayed on the grounds this summer will remember with fond memories the fun of gathering in the kitchen in the evenings for a knees up. the only problem being if you wanted to cook your tea there, most of it was mesmerised off your plate before you received it. Our sauna and swimming nights, with the Odd! social thrown in are still keeping our members together on the cooler days.

NORTHERN SUN SEEKERS INC.

Despite the inclement weather we have been having up north our club is progressing well. We were fortunate in having our National President, Gary, to stay with us over Waitangi Day Weekend. Everybody had an enjoyable time playing volleyball, cards or just relaxing and having interesting conversations. Gary elucidated some of the proposed changes to the constitution and we were glad to have his opinions on our organisation and facilities.

Our club president, David, has been busy marshalling members to get cracking on working bees; to help the local flea market; and to cooperate generally with the running of the club. One member has kindly donated a settee and chairs to match for our clubhouse; the same person also has laid down a nice clean floor covering so our environment is prospering.

So in conclusion, may we say, categorically, that we are still in existence, gradually increasing our membership, while our hopes for the future are high.

GISBORNE COUNTRY CLUB.

Is still, I imagine, a rather unknown factor to a large number of people. Gisborne tells us what town - city it is near, Country explains the situation and Club tells us that it is "an organisation of persons for social intercourse or other common object."

The common object in this case is a desire to relax, enjoy sport, be it a quiet game of bowls or something as strenuous as swimming or volley-ball, this without the necessity to wear clothes, if they so wish. In other words it is a Clothing Optional Leisure Park. With camping and caravanning facilities, it is a convenient place for the people of Gisborne, to have a quiet holiday without having to travel any great distance.

Being affiliated to the N.Z. Nudist Federation has many advantages, one being the opportunity to host the 1984-85 Annual Rally. The members of all the Federated clubs will naturally be there to participate in the sports and recreation available.

CORIO VALLEY NUDIST CLUB

Winter nude swim nights recommenced on May 19, and will continue on the third Saturday evening of each month until October 20.

This is our second year at the excellent Geelong venue, where heated pools (large and beginners), spa, sauna and gym are available.

With legal free beaches at nearby Point Impossible and Point Addis, "on the beach" advertising was possible during summer (what we had of it!), which has resulted in increased attendances, and further advertised Corio Valley Nudist Club.

Membership is stable at the moment, but there is plenty of room at our bushland grounds for new members to join us, simply drop a line to P.O. Box 379 Geelong or look us up in the yellow pages of the Geelong telephone directory.

SOUTHLAND SUN & HEALTH

Hi, I know most of you will be thinking that after the floods and rain down here our grounds must be 6ft under and, floating down 'round Bluff somewhere, I'm happy to say that we are still here and it's fun in the sun! (Rain) as usual.

First off we would like to offer our heartfelt thanks to those clubs and the Percy Cousins Trust for their offers of help in one form or another. Thank you all very much. To set all your minds at rest, neither our members homes nor our club grounds were touched by the floods.

Well here we are are into another year, 1984, got a feeling that a guy called ORWELL had some not very nice things to say about this year, guess we will have to wait and see what it brings.

Our club started off the year the right way by winning back the APARIMA CUP. This is played for twice a year, between Southland and the Orchard Club in Dunedin. The sports played are volleyball, miniten, darts and table tennis with a very narrow victory for us. After several recounts the cup was presented to Ken to be proudly displayed until the next time.

The weekend was rounded off with a community barbeque, and the presentations.

All was quiet for the next couple of months then once again all hell broke loose with a Chinese evening. Everybody wore Chinese dress and ate with Chopsticks. The funniest part was watching people trying to pick slippery things up with two pieces of timber tightly clenched in one hand (the other hand being used to retrieve the food from the floor, and other embarrassing places). Very nice to see everybody entering into the spirit of things with the dress theme. Well that's all from the deep South.

SOUTH AUCKLAND NUDIST CLUB

On the 25th March, the national president Gary Watson, officially opened our amenities block, which introduces a new standard of facilities that our club can offer its members. The block incorporates four flush toilets, four showers with hot water & a tub bath for small children.

We can now offer camping on our grounds from November to April. We are sure these facilities will encourage new members. If you are travelling through Auckland, please call in and stay a few days - you are very welcome.

On the previous night our club held a party & barbeque to which we invited neighbours of the club to come and spend the evening with us and see what we have been spending our lime and money on. This was a very successful night and our visitors were duly impressed with the standard of our amenities building.

We hope that next time you are around South Auckland you will visit us and inspect for yourselves the new facilities we now offer.

HAWKES BAY SUN CLUB

Having experienced a fairly good summer, we in the Bay are very happy to report that all is well with what we set out to do. Visitors from other clubs have past our way & it was good to see them.

One of our members has donated a four wheel play house for our youngsters, so they have no got their own hut.

A slide evening was held, looking at the club over 18 years. It makes one feel very humble of the hard work done by the founders & those who followed them in the early years.

The end of season social was held in April & with a delightfully decorated hall & disc jockey 'Bob', a wonderful evening was had by all.

Our A.G.M. was again well attended. The advancement made over the year shows that we are on the march.

A sports meeting is booked in for May.

A little correction re our old Club House. It should have read; It is with mixed feelings that the club has decided to let it go and fade to dust.

OOPS!...

Our apologies for the inverted centre spread in the last issue. We will try to avoid making you stand on your head in future issues.

About a year ago the first call went out to clubs & magazines throughout the world to promote the idea of naturist boys & girls writing to each other, exchanging naturist information. Some of the questions that had to be answered before participating were:

1. What school do you attend and what grade are you in. 2. What naturist club or free beach do you attend. 3. Do you want to write with a girl or boy, and so on.

Letters came in from all over the world, in total 16 countries participated. Some of these countries were: Libya, Spain, Portugal, Canada, U.S.A., Ireland, Norway, New Zealand and so on.

The country that scored first place in the amount of letters was ENGLAND with 24, second place was AUSTRALIA with 16 and the USA & HOLLAND with 12 each.

Out of 95 kids 35 girls felt like writing in comparison to 60 boys. It was also interesting to note how many boys and girls attended a free beach or club, not everyone indicated this question but out of 95 letters 36 said they attended a free beach and 39 belonged to a club, so the balance is pretty well even.

I would like to thank all the naturist magazines & papers, clubs and national naturist organisations in those countries that have cooperated in making this such a great success. Without your support it would not have been possible at all.

During the past year it was a surprise each time to see how many letters were in our postbox, some of the children got restless after waiting so long and wrote a second time as is understandable, as it took quite a while before magazines (quarterly) had it printed and the boys and girls had written their letters.

Some of the letters were real cute, the drawings that were made and the lovely cards the information was put on, here are some parts of some letters:

The 16 year old Angela from the U.S.A. writes: I would like to thank you for your interest in teenagers, how do other teenagers go about their life as a naturist, will help those of us who are insecure in this aspect.

David is 17 years old also from the U.S.A.: I am a naturist at home and other peoples houses, but never went to camp too much, but now I am lonely and want to meet naturist friends. I am very happy that someone cares about us young people. None of the grownups seem to look out for us that way. Enclosed is a picture of me, so you can see what I look like.

Ken is a 12 year old boy (U.S.) and lives in Hawaii, he likes to write with a nudist boy scout, some of his hobbies are playing the flute and dancing the Hula, he also takes photos.

Graham from England also agrees that not enough is done for teenagers in our naturist world. John from N. Ireland writes: I like to write with a girl from any country except England and Ireland. A letter from Craig in Scotland: I read with great interest and wonder, your article in H & E monthly about your travels around the world, what particular caught my eye was the article on the Teenage Pen pal group. Mark from England is blind and would like to write to boys and girls. Mark has no brothers or sisters and likes to write to both sexes. (Do let us know, Mark, how many letters you did get.) Terry is also from England has blond hair, blue eyes and wishes to correspond with a boy.

Iris is 15 years old from Holland, thinks it's a crazy great idea, I hope I am not too late with my letter because it's already October 1983.

Tanja is 12 years old also from Holland: It's a good idea to write with foreign children, it doesn't matter if it's a boy or girl as long as I have another friend.

Bertine writes (Holland) I agree with you that kids from 14 to 18 years of age are hardly seen at clubs these days. I also don't visit the club as often as I used to on account of non-naturist friends and because there are few kids left at our club

Katherine is 12 years old and lives in Tasmania: My parents, sisters and I have been keen naturists for several years and enjoy freedom from clothes whenever possible in our secluded home and surrounding bush. We do not belong to a club but attend groups from time to time, I can only speak English, I hope to study French and German when I start high school next year. These were some of the 95 letters that we received, you have noticed that in some of these letters the kids feel lonely and left out in many cases at the different clubs, the grownups do not pay enough attention, too many people forget that they were young as well. I have said this over and over again, our children are the future, too many clubs are full of grey folks that seem to be blind for the younger generation and then they still do wonder why on earth they get so few youth on the camping grounds.

I have made some telephone calls to some of the Dutch kids to see what the response is according to the list that was mailed some months ago to each and everyone, and they are very enthusiastic about letters coming in from all over the world.

Mona & I on behalf of N.P.N. Naturist swim club wish to thank everyone for sending in their letters and co-operating with us in placing the articles. We hope that in due course we shall hear from some of the children with how many children or countries they are writing with, exchange of holidays and so on. The best of luck to everyone.

Dear Sir,

Ever since I was a very small child I have felt a desperate compulsion to get out of my clothes in warm weather - particularly in humid weather. And when I was too young to be cunning I got my hide well and truly belted every time. The hidings did not cure my unusual compulsion.

In those days medical science had not yet revealed to my parents that, when our sweat glands don't function properly (that's me) people have this compulsion to get rid of their clothes. A well known illustration is that of a person dying of thirst in the desert. The sweat glands cease to function at a certain point and then the clothes are taken off one by one.

The point I am trying to make is that there are a great many reasons for different individuals wanting to lake off their clothes and enjoy shared nudity.

Forty years ago the general public looked on social nudists with the same intolerance and suspicion as some social nudists are currently looking at other social nudists who prefer to shave their genital hair.

Are these intolerant nudists suggesting that, when an applicant fills in the required form he or she must state whether his or her body hair is of certain required proportions?

I have met two nudist men who, in their natural state, have no body hair. I have met one nudist woman who has none, and two others who appear to have none at a distance of several yards. A woman friend of ours lost all her body hair after a severe shock and long illness.

Who knows what is truly in another's mind?

As long as normal behaviour is observed why try to cramp other people's personal ideas of nude freedom - as the general public once tried to cramp all nudists in their quest for a lifestyle of their own.

To some nudists, endless photos of club sports activities plus pages of near - perfect young people - that is what social nudity is all about. To others it can be boring without some changes occasionally. This apparent obsession with physical perfection must have scared away many ordinary people with very ordinary bodies.

To other nudists, without whose contribution in buying 'The N.Z. Naturist', there would be no 'N.Z. Naturist' social nudity means a now socially accepted opportunity to share a therapeutic freedom that provides trust and complete honesty - and with no overtones of sexual suggestiveness.

To such nudists our magazine is currently providing a most welcome mix of photos of most ordinary people of all ages and shapes. No would-be applicant looking at them could be apprehensive of appearing nude among other nudists with a less than perfect body.

Shaved genitals would not put them off joining - that could be a natural state for all they know.

What would put some prospective nudist club applicants off are photos of men with erections, or photos that give the impression that physical expressions of sexual thoughts are a normal aspect of social nudity.

That is being dishonest, because it is not true.

Not all that long back, social nudists desperately needed as many members as possible in order to present a strong and united front against an intolerant society.

Don't be so sure it won't happen again - history has a way of repeating itself.

Let us not make the mistake of destroying ourselves from within.

Yours faithfully
Wally Burgess

SCOTTISH COUPLE (MID-TWENTIES)
SEEKS NATURIST EMPLOYMENT.

ANYTHING CONSIDERED.

R. MORRISON.
HERZBACHWEG 18.
6460 GELNHAUSEN.
WEST GERMANY.

Dear Sir,

In reply to the article of the real woman by M. Taylor in the September issue, I have taken the liberty to translate this article into Dutch and have published it in our own newsletter of our 270 member naturist swim-club.

As the subject of hair or no hair seems to have attracted lots of attention in some naturist magazines over the years, it indeed made several members of our swim club react to Taylor's article.

2 females and 2 males wrote letters, and here follow some of their statements mentioned in their letters.

Anja: Men also go to a barber and they do shave as well, hair and a beard are pure natural things. There are enough men who shave hair that grows on their faces, does one lose (and now I am thinking of MEN) their manlyhood, it doesn't add up at all if you have hair or no hair, it all depends what one is used to.

John: That the author (Taylor) doesn't like shaven women is something I can understand, but is a pity that he wrote an article about it.

There are few women who shave off the pubic hair. I agree that some parts of the body are protected by hair, but in our modern society it has lost its function, what about cutting nails, that is also a sort of hair.

Mr. Taylor should of never written this article, just imagine if we all wrote articles about this subject. There is only a small group of women that shave pubic hair and we should give them that freedom. To tell the truth I myself find a woman who shaves under her armpits or pubic hair nice looking and modern.

Sybelle & Arnold: A number of years am I shaving off my pubic hair, I love nature but some parts of my body I do not like. All grownups have hair on their legs, a lot of hair on women's legs, I just do not like, and it has no function at all. During my work I perspire quite a bit and that stays and sticks amongst the hairs. I shave off my pubic hair because I like it that way, and so does my friend. The sexual parts of our bodies we did not get alone to increase the population but also to express certain feelings, that is also a gift of nature. Is a man without a beard not a real man anymore?

And lastly: HAIR OR NO HAIR, EYERYONE IS STILL FREE TO SHAVE OR NOT TO SHAVE IN OUR WORLD OF TODAY, AND WE SHOULD KEEP IT THAT WAY AS LONG AS WE CAN.

Robbert Broekstra

Dear Sir,

I've just arrived back into Australia after a fabulous month's holiday in New Zealand.

While in Auckland I was taken out to Long Bay, which is a free beach on the North of the City, I was taken out by Tony Wilson who is chairman of the Free Beach Movement. I was made very welcome at the beach by the people that Tony knew and had a top day. The weather was perfect that day.

I then went on a 3 week tour of New Zealand which was thoroughly enjoyed. In transit we stayed at Nelson at the large motor camp.

I spent a top day at the beach there which name escapes me for the moment.

I then arrived in Christchurch where I was met by a couple who became very good friends of mine when they were visiting the 3 Bears where I am a member. They took me to their home where I was treated as a special guest. They took me to their club on my last day in Timaru and was made very welcome by the members and even the weather was kind to us also.

I was very appreciative of the way I was treated by all within the movement and hope to continue with the friendships I've developed from my remarkable time in New Zealand.

Yours in Nudism
Lewis Schembri

Dear Sir,

In response to Joseph M. Taylor's letter to the editor, I vote for hair left on as nature intended, in pictures also.

Ronald B Claes

Dear Editor:

This is in response to the letter written by Jenny B, in the September 1983 issue, in which she laments the number of Playboy-type pictures in your fine magazine. She ends by saying that your magazine does not promote naturism in its "true sense".

What is "true naturism"? What is a "true naturist"? Given the number of people who call themselves naturists, their exceptionally diverse nature and motivations, and the fact that no one authority has ever fully defined naturism (in a manner that is followed by all those who call themselves naturists) - it soon becomes obvious that "true naturism" is not much more than a matter of very personal and subjective, opinion.

A nudist magazine publisher can not go out and shoot her own photos. A publisher can only publish what is available and submitted for publication. We set out to publish the magazine "FAMILIES-NATURALLY" in order to only project the image of naturist Families - we know how hard it is to find NON-Playboy-type naturist pictures! We have looked through any number of private nudist photo albums, where all the pictures were made by the husband of the family over the years (and perhaps a few were made by the mother along the way). The vast majority of such private naturist photos are of the Playboy-type! So, if the naturists themselves shoot mostly Playboy-type photos - how can a publisher publish otherwise? It is virtually impossible! We know! We had to go out and shoot most of the pictures ourselves, just to get pictures of families - because the are NOT otherwise available. But, what we are required to do, is NO proper way to gather material for a magazine. No publisher should be forced into making her own photos!

The solution is obvious. People like Jenny B., and wives & mothers everywhere, must learn to use cameras! The women must take the cameras away from the men, then the women must go out and shoot the kind of photos they feel should be published. If any one has other suggestions, I hope they will write the editor or me at 2483 Emerson Dr., Corona, California, 91720, USA. But, before you do please keep this in mind: Playboy-type pictures DO help sell more copies of a magazine - which keeps the cost of the magazine reasonable. Our magazine does not have such pictures to help increase our sales so, even though it does have 100 plus pages per issue, it must be priced at $US15, because sales are so small.

The BEST to you & yours naturally,
Linda Schuyten
the Parent Sig

Dear Sir,

I'd like to hear direct from some New Zealanders of the 2nd or 3rd generation of English Taylor ancestry as only part of my father's family emigrated to the USA in 1870 and I wonder if any of them emigrated to New Zealand as there were ten children and the only one I know of is Joseph Garabaldi Taylor, my father, named after the Italian patriot Garabaldi. If I were younger genealogy probably would be a fascinating subject to pursue. My guess is that his family was Church of England even though he was named after an Italian probably more out of admiration of Garabaldi's deeds rather than his religion. On the other hand 'Joseph' has a religious connotation, hasn't it?

Sincerely
Joseph M. Taylor

Dear Sir,

In response to letter of G.M. (Naturist 108 March 1984) who has asked if "travel clubs" (without sites) exist in Australia, the answer is yes they do.

Unlike Canada and U.S.A. we have no clear identification in the directory of the type of club as listed, other than being a nudist club.

For information of readers of Naturist and G.M. in the Australian Nudist Club Directory the Southern Sun Club; Southern United Naturists and Whyalla Sun club are all without grounds.

Sincerely,
Mary Weston
President ANF

NEW ZEALAND CLUB DIRECTORY

The secretaries of these clubs will be pleased to hear from genuine inquirers. Please enclose return postage.

new zealand

naturist

incorporating australian nudist news

No. 109 June 1984

The New Zealand Naturist is the Official Journal published quarterly by the New Zealand Nudist' Federation Inc. Registered at the Chief Post Office Wellington as a magazine.

Editor:

Graeme Brown

Typesetting and Artwork by:

Ad Service, P.O. Box 22271, Otahuhu

Printed by:

Howick Press Ltd.

P.O. Box 38-065.

Howick.

Distributed by:

Gordon and Gotch (NZ) Ltd

(Top)

AUSTRALIAN NUDIST CLUB DIRECTORY

This magazine is protected by copyright, no part of it may be reproduced. stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, photographic, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the editor.

In our desire to present different points of view we publish articles and letters which do not necessarily represent the opinion of the editor.

All correspondence should be addressed to:

P.O. Box 2925,
AUCKLAND.
NEW ZEALAND

General inquiries concerning nudism in New Zealand, or overseas, should be addressed to the:-

New Zealand
Nudist Federation Incorporated
P.O. Box 391. GISBORNE.
NEW ZEALAND

Applications for membership of clubs should be made direct to the club secretary (See Club Directory)

PHOTO CREDITS

Leif Heilberg

   F.C. Centre Spread, P16, P18.

Freddy Karstensen

   I.F.C. P9, P14.

P Legg

   P 4, Back Cover

Doug Cousins

   P 6, P 12, I.B.C.

STATE ASSOCIATIONS:

Nudist Association of
Victoria,*

15 Cuthbertson St.
Broadmeadows 3047

Nudist Association
  of Queensland,*

P.O. Box 442,
Woodridge QId 4114.

NOTE: The clubs marked with an asterisk (*) above are affiliated with the Australian Nudist Federation.

DEADLINES FOR COPY

110 September 1984 - 15th July 1984

111 December 1984 - 1st Oct 1984

112 March 1985 - 30th Jan 1985

113 June 1985 - 20th April 1985