Rally Registration
Enclosed with this edition of In-Touch is a Rally Information Brochure and Registration Form.
If you are planning to attend the Rally, please return your completed application with a deposit by 1 November. This entitles you to enter the Early Bird Registration draw for a total refund of your Rally fee.
Remember the Rally is open to members of NZNF member clubs, including the Free Beach Group, Supporter group and sustaining members.
You can bring your best friends along too or any one who may be interested in a value for money holiday and who may enjoy our way of life.
Our Club house (approx 4500sft) is the limiting factor for the number of registrations accepted.
Avoid disappointment and register early. 30 have done so already.
The NZNF bi-monthly supplement
September-October 1989
Do Nudists believe in the Supernatural?
During the recent N.Z.N.F. Rally at Palmerston North Sun Club, Dave Clarke asked the people present at the Percy Cousins Trust concert to complete a one page questionnaire about beliefs in abnormal phenomena. The anonymous questionnaire consisted of 23 items which were rated on a five-point scale, from strongly disbelieve to strongly believe in the phenomenon. Participants also gave their ages and rated their degrees of conservatism and religiousness.
The results of the survey were compared to the findings from a similar study with 385 extramural psychology students at Massey University in 1988. This report presents the findings from Dave’s survey.
The Beliefs
Ninety percent of the 136 nudists who returned completed questionnaires chose to believe or strongly believe in sleepwalking and hypnosis. These phenomena have been reliably observed and are not considered paranormal. One evening before the concert we experienced a remarkable demonstration of hypnosis at Barry Stuart’s Hypnotist Show. It is not surprising then that only five people expressed disbelief in hypnosis.
Approximately 70% believe in telepathy, extrasensory perception, and dowsing (water divining etc). 55% believe in precognition, body auras, biorhythms and clairvoyance.
Beliefs in astrology, UFOs, astral projection (out-of-body), psychic healing and life after death were chosen by 45% of the group. About 30% of the people believe in karma (one's destiny), ghosts, poltergeists and reincarnation.
All of the above percentages are very close to those found with the extramural student group. Twice as many nudists (20%) believe in the Loch Ness monster, and half (15%) as many believe in angels and devils as the students.
The Factors
Degree of religiousness is strongly related to belief in angels, devils and life after death for both groups. Men rated themselves as more nonreligious than women. Since there were many more women (301) than men (84) in the student group, the nudists’ religiousness appeared to be lower, thus less belief in angels and devils.
For both students and nudists, more women than men believe in astral projection, life after death, astrology, body auras, clairvoyance, poltergeists, psychic healing and reincarnation. Men believe in UFOs more than women.
Personal experience with a phenomenon is the greatest single factor accounting for belief in that phenomenon. Virtually everyone who indicated experience with a phenomenon gave a rating of believe or strongly believe in the phenomenon. For the nudists, approximately 30% reported experience with hypnosis and telepathy; 20% with ESP, precognition, body auras, sleepwalking and dowsing; 10% with clairvoyance, biorhythms, astral projection and psychic healing.
For the nudists, age reflected their degrees of belief in some of the phenomena.
The younger the age, the greater the tendency to believe in devils, UFOs, and sleepwalking. The older the age, the more the belief in dowsing and telepathy, and the greater the degree of religious belief. As a whole, the younger students and nudists are more likely to believe in the paranormal phenomena and to be less religious.
Both groups tended to rate themselves as liberal on the conservatism scale.
Conclusions
Statistical analyses show that experience with the paranormal phenomena, even when considered separately from sleepwalking and hypnosis, is the greatest factor accounting for belief in the phenomena. Gender, religiosity, conservatism and age account for significant but lesser amounts of variance in degrees of belief.
Belief in paranormal phenomena is very widespread in New Zealand and overseas. Even in Communist China, it has been found that students who received no religious teachings or practices reported beliefs and experiences similar to Western groups. David is grateful for the nudists’ assistance with his research.
For further information write to David E. Clarke, Ph.D., Dept. of Psychology, Massey University, PALMERSTON NORTH.
YOUR CHANCE TO HELP YOUR CLUB
In the December quarter this year the N.Z.N.F. will be launching a new package of promotional material for you to use in introducing people to our great way of life. Experience in clubs throughout New Zealand has shown that most new members join us after an initial visit arranged by an existing member.
N.Z.N.F. Seminars in recent years concluded that to help this process, it would be useful to have available to individual club members an attractive set of promotional material which provides comprehensive in- formation for potential members. It is now in production and will be distributed in you early next summer. So start making a list now of all your friends, relatives, workmates etc., who you think might be interested in knowing more about nudism. By giving them answers to all the common questions about nudists you can both explain why you enjoy it so much and perhaps attract them to your club as well.
So start thinking about it now.
Kevin Sampson
Dear Roy,
Just a word of appreciation for "IN-TOUCH", which comes to me via Free Beach Group. In-Touch has provided several quotes for the Newsletter of our branch of the 60s-Up Movement, for which we thank you.
I consider that "Baring All" is becoming rather much of the intense cult instead of just part of ordinary life, but this is part of the
climate of the day when every group must be directed against someone. My wife and I do sunbathe all year round, even yesterday, but this is just a part of our lives.
Thanks again.
Yours etc.,
G.E. LIND WALKER
Auckland
"WHERE DID ALL
THE OLD MAGAZINES GO"
Sun Review and Solar, two Australian nudist magazines published in the early 1950s and 1960s contain various articles of a historical nature to both New Zealand and Australia.
Perhaps you may have some of these gathering dust in your attic or in the old suitcase under the bed. As N.Z.N.F. Archivist I am interested in gathering together a complete set of both magazines.
(Note: That from issue No. 69, Sun Review was incorporated into Solar to become one and the same magazine).
Although I do have some of each of the magazines there are many issues missing and I would be grateful for you to donate or perhaps arrange a swap with some spares that I do have so that I may complete the search for these valuable bits of our heritage. Your assistance is appreciated.
Similarly I am attempting to compile copies of the Rally Newsletters published at each Rally - usually on a daily basis - and would be grateful if any of the following could be donated to me or loaned (for photocopying).
IN-TOUCH
Edited by Roy Cox and published by the New Zealand Nudist Federation 123 Hill Road, Belmont, Lower Hutt, New Zealand. All correspondence to this address.
14th Rally Wellington
- 30 Dec 65 - 3.1.66
17th Rally Canterbury
- 29 Dec 68 - 3.1.69
20th Rally Canterbury
- 31 Dec 71 - 4.1.72
29th Rally Taranaki
- 80 - 81
30th Rally Canterbury
- 81 - 82
34th Rally Canterbury
- 85 - 86
35th Rally Wellington
- 86 - 87
Someone should have the more recent ones surely.
Finally, I would like to obtain a copy of British Naturism No. 70 to complete a sequence. What offers!!
Thanks again for your assistance.
Les Olsen
N.Z.N.F Archivist
Rally Photography.
At the last N.Z.N.F. Annual Meeting the Council members supported and approved the amendment to the Photographic Bylaw which now requires all photographs selected for publication to be supported with a signed release form of approval by the subject/s or guardian.
Additionally, the requirements for photo tags was no longer considered necessary. This allowed the authorised photographers to take photographs of all the Rally events and activities principally for record purposes. All photographs taken being available for purchase by the subjects if desired.
It would seem that at the "members meeting" of Rally participants those present were misinformed as to the adopted procedures and the reasons for their adoption.
For some years it has been the practice to issue coloured tags to those attending Rallies which either represented approval to be photographed or not.
In some cases the colour provided that the person so photographed also consented to having their photo published - in most cases without any further acknowledgement between subject and photographer.
This system we believe to be flawed and incompatible with the bylaws of most of the clubs in N.Z.
The system has proved to be successful at the last two rallies and it is proposed that it will be used again in Wellington where Doug Ball and I will again be the Official Photographers.
I would stress that there is no compulsion for one to be photographed and should you not wish to have your photo taken please advise us as to your wishes.
We look forward to meeting you all at the Rally in Wellington.
Les Olsen N.I.V.P.
1990 & THE
YOUNG MEMBERS PROGRAMME FOR THE RALLY
Albert and Geraldine Wayers and their team of 20 (the same group that organised the last Wellington Rally Young Members programme) have some more great ideas.
Will they be organising story tellers to recount Maori and non-Maori tales?
Will they be organising a kite flying competition and teaching the young members how to make manu aute (kites)? Will they be decorated with the 1990 themes?
Will they be asking the young members about their thoughts on how they would like to see New Zealand develop in the future?
