# 133 - June 1990 

GUEST
EDITORIAL

By John Trotter

Supporter Group Secretary

It appears that a lack of knowledge of our Supporter Group is evident among Sun Club members. No specific problems have been reported to me by any of the sun club secretaries, about visits to their grounds by supporters, so I assume conduct has always been satisfactory, on these occasions and valuable experience has been gains.

However, many people seem nervous about joining sun clubs; for an uncommitted person the big step of removing clothes in front of strangers, for the first time, can be an almost insurmountable obstacle. The supporter group is therefore a logical stepping stone to a fuller appreciation and acceptance of naturism.

Our supporter "society" is a varied and complex combination of individuals. Whole families - Mum, Dad and kids join, unmarried, as well as married couples, male and female singles are with us also (of these the male members predominate).

Of the men many have never married, others are separated or divorced from previous marriage partners. Some yearn to "belong" - to associate with naturism but for years do not, in respect of their wives disinterest or opposition. It happens also that a man will join on his own with his wife happily in agreement.

People of mature years often desire confidentiality of membership for various reasons, a young person, one out of a whole family circle, may have convictions to join but wish to keep it confidential also; so confidentiality is assured to all, in our group, unless specified otherwise. Every member progresses at a different level, as personally desired. Belonging, though, fulfills a need in the lives of every individual member and this helps strengthen the movement in general.

To conclude, on a personal note, I know a senior college student who produced an essay, for a project, on physical and mental health. He expressed his own interest in nudism to me. His firm belief was of the therapeutic benefits to be gained from a balanced "diet" of sunshine on all of one's body.

Top marks for teenage perceptivity.

Photo: Freddy Karstensen

NELSON
SUN
CLUB

Coming of Age

Easter Celebrations

by Elizabeth

By 10 o'clock there were more than forty people waiting their turn to start the golf tournament. It was a great sight seeing so many folk, young and old alike, really enjoying themselves and getting some exercise too! By 3.30 everyone was finished and looking forward to afternoon tea, which was a lovely spread. Then it was time for a shower, a bit of rest (if you didn't have any last minute cooking to do) and then it was "pot luck" tea time. It always amazes me that no matter how many pot luck meals I go to there is always a great variety of food and never two dishes the same. This was no exception, with something for everyone and plenty left over to prove it. No sooner had the dishes been done and the kitchen cleaned up than the pool and darts tournaments started. I can tell you it was not easy playing pool surrounded by a very vocal audience, and the darts were very tricky. They seemed to enjoy taking stabs at your feet when you weren't quick enough!

Later the wine, home brew, fruit juice and cheese tasting started. Since the club grounds are in a famous wine and fruit juice producing area it was an obvious choice to make. More than one car left at the end of the weekend trying to fit extra wine into an already full boot.

The planning and preparations for our 21st birthday were complete. All the accommodation (61) at the club grounds was booked for the weekend and nearly 80 for the dinner on Sunday night. Folk were coming from Dunedin, Timaru, Blenheim, Christ- church and Wellington and would start arriving on Friday afternoon, with the exception of the New Zealand Nudist Federation President June Campbell- Tong and husband Bevan, who were flying down Thursday night.

Everything was ready - cake made, sports equipment checked, trophies found, food organised. The grounds had never looked so good and the clubhouse had been scrubbed from top to bottom. There was even a photographic display showing our progress over the last 21 years and it was hard to believe the club grounds ever looked like that and some of the kids in the photos would be coming this weekend with their spouses!!

We arrived Thursday night late and couldn't believe our eyes. There were cars all over the place - caravans full and lights on in the rooms in the house. It seemed everyone wanted to get there early so as not to miss anything!!

The thought crossed my mind - we have nothing planned until Friday night - but I needn't have worried. Everyone spent the day relaxing, practising their golf, catching up on sleep, or just lying around in the sun catching up on old friends. This set the atmosphere for the entire weekend.

Saturday dawned crisp and clear, a fine day as promised by the weather man.

No one went to bed hungry or thirsty that night!

Next morning it was fine and sunny again and the miniten and table tennis got off to a great start. Later, volley ball and trivial pursuit were the order of the day with tug of war thrown in for good measure. After the presentation of trophies and another sumptuous afternoon tea, National President June congratulated us on our "coming of age" and presented us with a symbol of strength and sun - a golden totara tree - to be planted on the grounds. Then it was time to get ready for dinner at the local tavern. There was much hilarity in the shower block as everyone got dressed up for the party. It certainly was a festive crowd who arrived at the tavern and the amount of talking - you'd never have thought they had just spent 3 days together!

And what a dinner, they certainly did us proud. There was something for everyone and to judge from the comments afterwards, everyone had a great time. Then it was back to the clubhouse for the dance. Later there was the cutting of the cake by 2 couples, Joe and Christina and Hub and Trudy, who have been with us since the beginning and it was our pleasure to make them Life Members, much to their surprise. Our President Bill made a lovely speech and then it was time for more music and more eating until everyone called it a day (or a morning!).

Next morning (Monday) several members were up early to light the barbecues and cook a farewell breakfast for everyone, including freshly picked mushrooms. Some couldn't eat anything because of all they had eaten the night before but the smell of bacon, sausages and eggs cooking attracted the rest!

All too soon it was time to say goodbye and the vote was unanimous. It had been a great weekend - making new friends (6 nations represented this weekend), catching up on old ones, enjoying friendly company in a free, beautiful, natural setting, everything our movement stands for.

The whole weekend went very smoothly apart from a bottom being stung by a wasp, a wrist being injured dancing, bruised ribs caused while turning out a light and a leg injured playing volley ball. How you ask - well that is another story!

(There is already talk of having a repeat for our silver anniversary in 4 years time! Ah well - back to the drawing board.)

 I.N.F.       
NEWS      CORNER

By Bart Wijnberg I.N.F. President

GOALS, MEANS

AND PROBLEMS

Have you ever at some time or other asked yourself what your goals are in life? And how you would reach them? And what the obstacles would be?

I remember when I read the American Constitution for the first time in my life. Americans are proud of this document and rightly so. Somewhere there is this beautiful article that states that the people would be "in the pursuit of happiness". That is a goal of sorts. Means such as freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and many other rights modern democratic states and their citizens should enjoy. The Constitution does not speak of obstacles and problems.

As you can see, individuals and states sometimes take time to think about their goals, about the means to reach these goals and about the problems they are having.

Have you ever thought about your club's goals? Where should your club be, five years from now? What should it have accomplished? And what means should it use to reach the targets? I rarely read club magazines that contain articles about goals and means.

More often I read about obstacles and problems, and sometimes I am afraid that these divert our attention from our goals in life: accomplishing naturism, doubling the membership of the club, constructing new facilities, purchasing new grounds, have friendly relations with the neighbourhood. And sometimes we lose sight of how to go about reaching these goals: by placing well designed ads in well-chosen media, by being present at holiday exhibitions, by publishing an interesting and professionally-produced magazine, by making press releases, etc. etc.

The INF recently has started a series of round-table talks - we called them brainstorms - in which we asked committee members from different federations to list their five top priorities for the coming year and to list five ways to realise these priorities.

Finally, we also asked them to list the five main problems. I can tell you that the results are most interesting. Not only could we see a wealth of new ideas; federations sometimes were startled themselves at the results.

Some had never thought of their future this way, others found out they were using all their time to solve problems that had nothing to do with the main goal in their organisation's life, it just distracted their attention. Others again discovered that they did know their goals, but were utterly vague about how to reach them.

INF will go on talking to and with federations and clubs. We hope that those that were present felt encouraged by the talks. And we also hope that those who were not there will start their own soul-searching, their own project for the future.

Why don't you, reader of this article, try to do the same in your own naturist surroundings? Tell your self what your goals should be, be it establishing a new free beach, or removing one or another legal obstacle, or improving the club (but that is already far too vague to be put fruitfully into practice).

Tell your committee, ask it what you and it will do in the coming years. Do not forget about your problems, but please, let those only come last.

INF wishes you a very naturist last decade of this century.

The main sport played that day was petanque, which they called Jeu De Boules. There are also two volley ball, two badminton courts and 25 campsites for visitors.

Some weeks later we renewed our friendship with Bep and Wim from Utrecht, Holland whom we had met at our club in Wellington. While arranging our visit with Bep on the phone he informed us that "at our club we don't allow smoking, drinking alcohol, or eating meat". "I am very pleased you told us," I replied, "we could easily have brought ham sandwiches or luncheon sausage".

There are other clubs in Holland which are not only teetotalers but also vegetarians, most of them are from Zon En Leven which owns several sites around Holland.

Bep and Win duly arrived in their Mazda 323 (we drive the same car in New Zealand) and we set off to their grounds. On the way we passed a nude beach (on a lake), what a crowd - cars - bicycles - dogs - kids - balls - flutter-boards - chilly bins and noise. A while later we parked on a quiet road and proceeded through a small gate. There are no signs, just a small path that wanders beside beautiful swampland. At another gate a member was on duty. "They are our guests" Bep said, and that was enough, we were in. More walking, past dozens of push bikes, to the changing room (unknown in New Zealand) where everybody leaves all their clothing and proceeds as a nudist.

Our overseas trip was primarily a family reunion, but as we have been nudists all our married life, it also gave us a chance to experience the nudist life style in the countries we were visiting.

We were in Brisbane to celebrate our 35th Wedding Anniversary with our children and grandchildren. The day after the celebrations we borrowed our son's Land cruiser and took off to find Sun Leisure.

What a welcome! We had met Bernard and Lock before at the Palmerston North rally in New Zealand, it was great to see them again. There have been many improvements at their grounds, the lovely pool, clean shower block and the new sauna. In between repairing the dam and improving facilities they are also extending their own home, (on the club grounds). Aren't they fortunate to be able to spend every day in the nude.

We felt good, after days of shopping and sightseeing, to get our clothes off, have a swim and lunch under the trees. Lock has names for all the birds that eat out of her hand. From Brisbane we flew to Amsterdam, where we had many family reunions, visits to Tulip fields, old city, canals, our old home town etc. In early May we slipped away for a day to the nearest grounds, H Vinkel, in Rosmalen.

We followed the road through farm land - ploughed fields, neat rows of trees, straight ditches, till we found the high fenced off block that is "H Vinkel". A house is the entrance, we rang the bell on the side door presented our I.N.F. Passport, paid our day fee and we were in. Being a week day and early in the season the grounds were sparsely populated. We went for a walk around the grounds, ending up with a swim in the pool, the only people to have a swim that day, they thought it still too cold.

As you can see nudism is just part of the scene in Holland.

Our next stop was California, where we had planned on visiting the Sequoions Club in Castro Valley just out of Oakland - San Francisco Bay. Ironically we arrived on the some day that the local daily - The Tribune - ran an article on the Sequoions Club headed "Nudists stay cool when weather warms up".

Honk your horn and wait, says the sign on the gate to the Sequoions. We did and back came a 'Hellou'. We replied "Visitors from New Zealand". Before long Nick, the caretaker, let us in. At the office, where we paid our day fee, are A.S.A. badges and towels for sale - Club T-shirts, and a stand with brochures for other clubs in California. Nick showed us around and soon we were "at home". Being a weekday there were just a few people around, but we understand they have 160 members and 30 children. The club covers 80 acres of bush clad hillsides and offers its members a swimming pool, hot tub, showers, hall, barbeque area, volley ball courts with some baches and trailer homes.

Each club we visited had their own style, but most compare with the clubs we are used to in New Zealand although Sequoions had an interesting rule: "Married persons are expected to visit the club with their spouses".

We found it great, every now and then, to be among fellow nudists. Exchanging views and ideas, finding out how they run their clubs, realising that they basically have the same problems as we do in New Zealand. We loved the experience but were pleased to be back on the beautiful Wellington Club grounds, we've got a great club.

The grounds are really in harmony with nature, a lovely pathway with bridges wanders through the swamp- land and lakes. The surrounding area is Forest Service land and will be kept native. Bep and Win showed us around the grounds and introduced us to their friends. It was good to see that these clubs can be really friendly without the need to drink. The club members had just finished building a new sauna, with a wood burner. Other club members proudly showed us their herb garden. Most members are daily visitors because there are no cars or caravans here and camping can only be done in pup tents.

Apart from the 35 nudists clubs there are also many nude swimming clubs, with names like "Bloote Plons" (Bare Plunge) or "Niks Om T Lijf". (Nothing around the body).

Some of these clubs hire the local pool, others just get together during the nude swimming times at the public pools thereby mixing with the general public. It is far more advanced than in New Zealand or Australia.

While in Utrecht we took some time off to visit the National Headquarters, simply called "De Winkel" (The Shop). It sells Badges, Pennants, Flags etc, also there are stands full of brochures on clubs, camps, nude holidays, hotels, motels and travel guides from all over Europe. I also picked up a map called "Open air recreation in the Netherlands". It was full of information on all sorts of outdoor activities - playing fields, animal farms, botanical gardens, horse riding, bicycle tracks, beaches, nudist clubs, nude beach sailing, canoe hire etc.

EDITORIAL

In writing this review, I can do no better than to quote from a very fine little brochure put our by the Van Tan Club of Vancouver, Canada. This booklet is designed to acquaint the enquirer with some of the basic facts of nudism, facts which apply in New Zealand just as much as in Canada. It reads, "Nudism is not a cult or religion, but a philosophy for living.

"Many centuries ago, the ancient Romans and Greeks participated in many sports and athletic events in the nude, believing that, in this way the muscles were given free play and more opportunity to develop. Evidently this belief bore fruit, as history tells many tales of athletic prowess which we could never hope to surpass.

"Nudists believe also in the unlimited benefits to be derived from sunshine, fresh air and bodies unfettered by clothing. They constantly strive to obtain the privilege of nude bathing on public beaches and in areas reserved for this purpose. To achieve such a goal takes much work, a good deal of foresight and a strong representation.

"The practice of nudism offers a great deal more than a mere suntan. The teachings of past years that brought into use the word "shame" have to be overcome. These teachings were based on the false premise that a natural sense of shame exists with regard to certain parts of the human body. Nothing could be further from the truth. This condition was created by constant repetition of so-called educators and reformers of the past.

"Nudism proves beyond a shadow of doubt that the nude body does not draw any undue attention from the opposite sex. Also that this sense of shame should not, and does not in fact, exist.

"That our children will be raised without this word "shame" hanging over them is one of our rewards."

To add to this, one can assure the hesitant, that nudism, as practiced in our official clubs, is entirely legal and its benefits are recognised by some whom we have interviewed connected with the government of this country. One thing that strikes the beginner is the spirit of friendliness and trust that this way of living engenders.

You are not only free from your clothes but a lot of mental cobwebs, fears and humbugs as well. These unconsciously beset the average person, though as most of them have become conventional and therefore "respectable" they are automatically accepted without much more thought.

Nudism confers so many real benefits to man, woman and child that we should be proud to be called members of a club and anxious to help others to be free and to enjoy this natural and healthy pursuit. Remember, we are members of a movement, that although misunderstood by many, is nevertheless capable of curing juvenile delinquency and helping to make a much better world, badly in need of help at this present time.

Perc.

* * * *

CLUB NOTES

Auckland Outdoor Health Club

The Sunday before Easter we held our first 'Open Day' when club members were clothed for a part of the day and outsiders were invited to see the club grounds and join in the activities for the afternoon. Although attendance was not high, the occasion was an undoubted success. Work continued on the foundations of the clubhouse and our guests were able to see us as we usually are. When 'stripping time' came this was done without show and few found it necessary to depart beforehand; in fact one large family was only too glad to be in! Dick and Anna announced that they had decided to give the club their 135 acre property in Northland to do with as we will. This very generous gesture has given us much pleasure but we realise that this property is not something that we can hug to our breasts against all comers - to mix my metaphors muddlesomely. It is perhaps appropriate that our club should be caretakers for the National Movement for the property whilst, of course, keeping the right to dispose of or otherwise deal with it if considered suitable.

We were especially happy to welcome Anna to our club for Easter and to hear that she and Dick intend to build on the club site and to come and live with us, though they may go back north during the winter.

If all nudists were like Dick and Anna, Presidents and Secretaries wouldn't grow grey hair (or lose it!) and would also live to ripe old ages.

Another piece of good news that came out of our Open Day was that a local builder is giving us the joinery for our clubhouse. The clubhouse, incidentally, is on its way up. So are we.

Wellington Sun & Health Society

Now that the power is laid on in the clubhouse and canteen, weekenders have appreciated this additional amenity, especially the comfort of a trouble-free shave. Painting the exterior of the clubhouse is underway. A further clearing and tree planting programme has started, so that in a year or two the unsightly iron fence may be removed and complete privacy still be assured. The Kiddies Corner is being extended towards the bush and a new look given to all this area right up to the "Bridge of Size". This is part of the development plan that will make it really beautiful. The Half Annual meeting was held in the grounds recently, preceded by a barbeque. This was the first time a general meeting has been held at Fiveacres and as the day was near perfect, it was voted a great success. A number of new members were welcomed into the society and tentative plans for winter socials were put in train.

Maximum Fun

at Mini-Rally

by Dave Clark

Wellington Anniversary Open Weekend provided the Palmerston North Sun Club with excellent weather for a relaxed, enjoyable gathering and informal sports. More than 150 adults and children took advantage of the grounds and facilities, overseen by the sole reminder of a previous National Rally, the lone totem pole. Visitors came from as far as New Plymouth and Hawkes Bay, with regional Palmerston North, Wanganui and Wellington Sun Club members making up the bulk of the participants.

On Saturday morning the Wanganui Sun Club won the indoor bowls tournament. The day continued with casual sports and activities which tended to suit the mood of the campers. The children had a splashing good time for most of the day around the swimming pools when the hand- pumped water hoses were put out for them. The adults, who tended to avoid the pool area until it was their turn, were quite happy to sunbathe, socialise and try out the new miniten court.

The strobe-light "knees-up" social evening produced some interesting sights and sounds. When the music played, the coloured lights flashed. However, to get light to read the labels on the tapes, participants decided to sing loudly and clap hands. The younger members and young-at-heart watched videos in the privacy of a caravan.

Sunday morning saw well attended rounds of nine-hole putting golf. One participant even managed a hole-in- one at the ninth, which is on a hill and which brought about the demise of many low scorers on the other eight. The miniten open doubles resulted in some very close sets, but were also enjoyed by the few not as proficient with the paddles. The hot afternoon drove many into the pools where inflated inner tubes and balls provided hours of fun. Afterward, some of the little members (and one or two not so little) ended up with colourful stars, figures and even houses on their bodies from washable body paints.

For the sake of Club posterity and weary posteriors at afternoon tea, the Palmerston North members who were at the Wellington Rally re-enacted "The Coming of the Missionaries" for the video camera and a delighted audience. The tall tales with a twist were based on the Old Testament. Hilariously funny, they were sung in verse to the accompaniment of costumed characters who did not keep their cool when acting out the parts:

Adam and Eve did not lose their fig-leaves, but Moses lost his beer, Goliath lost his head, Ruth lost her innocence, Sampson lost his hair, Delilah and verse; and Joshua with his horn almost brought the house down! The glorious evening began with a succulent barbeque and ended with more light-flashing, heart-throbbing mouldy-oldies and mop-pops. The sing-along crowd in the corral lifted everyone's spirit as they lifted the spirits to their lips.

Monday was a time for rest and further recreation. In the morning, volleyball teams of young and old competed for the fun of it. Later, at five shots for fifty cents, the power drivers drove golf balls 75 metres for closest to the pin. The money raised paid for the two bottles of Port given as prizes for the Sunday mini-golf and the driving range event. The winner of the mini-golf from Hawkes Bay also won this event, and got to take home two bottles of Port wine. With Hawkes Bay being noted for its vineyards, it was like taking coals to Newcastle. Quoteth he sheepishly, "I must have a strong liking for Port!"

Feedback from the weekend visitors indicate that the mini-rally went very well. Prospective members got a good appreciation of what nudism is all about. Palmerston North Sun Club did a magnificent job, and can look forward to new applicants who are keen to join.

On Saturday 6th February 1988 at 6pm the stream by the Wanganui Sun Club overflowed its banks and flooded the grounds. There were two couples at the grounds at the time and although the rain that came earlier that afternoon was heavy the flash flood was completely unexpected. The club members were quick enough to move vehicles to safety. They barely had time to complete this rescue before the flood waters covered the grounds to a depth of one and a half metres. Only the island in the centre which the club house and barbeque area sits on escaped the flood waters.

Losses fortunately were limited to a few things in caravans and the destruction of the swimming pool. The mess was so absolute that the grounds were unusable until next season. That year we even cancelled our miniten champs as the grounds offered no way or place to play them.

We were told this had been a fifty year flood and had never happened before within the memory of most people. We had been unlucky.

Two years later the flood was just some photos in the club album and a bad memory, we had finally been paid our insurance by NZI, our grounds were replanted and a splendid new miniten court had been laid.

Then without warning it happened again, heavy rain up country, on the night of Monday 29th January 1990 almost two years to the day, saw the river rise again. This time there was no one at the grounds, the damage was seen for the first time by club members early the next morning.

THE FLOOD

Wanganui Washed out again

by Vic Herring

Water had been so deep that it was above waist height in the club house. The water level rose to a good 2 probably 3 metres above the so called 50 year flood level. Everything in the club house was ruined. The furniture, appliances, carpets, books, utensils the inside of the wall linings and the insides of the walls were all covered in a thick grey mud. The club house stunk.

At the peak of the flood the furniture must have been floating around in the club house because when members got to the grounds they could not get into the building for chairs had jammed up against the doors.

The tool shed was under water, damaging most of our tools and destroying consumable materials for the grounds. The bunk house which we had nearly finished upgrading was ruined, the pool was destroyed again and our new miniten court was 18 inches under mud.

The whole level of the grounds was a foot higher than before the flood.

The power board banned us from using any power until the place was checked out.

The big question now two years on is: has the club the heart to carry on after a second disastrous flood. This flood was miles worse than the previous. The active membership of the club has already dwindled to a dangerous level and amongst the committee members discussion had taken place over whether we could actually raise a committee for the next year.

The clean up this time is a much more soul destroying job, it will not be completed until well into next season, and in the meantime what can our club offer new members? The other thought on most people's minds is how can we camp on these grounds when the river might flood at any moment. We simply could not trust the grounds anymore for overnight stays. It was with these daunting thoughts in front of her that Margaret, our club President, started the clean up. With a small group of followers behind her they spent weeks cleaning, scraping and shovelling, and so far they have only cleaned the clubhouse, and some of the grounds surrounding it.

On the bright side we have managed to use the Palmerston North Sun Club grounds to run our annual miniten champs, even at this event the discussion still focused on whether we would survive and if so in what form.

It was with these thoughts in mind that we attended our first committee meeting after the flood. The meeting was held late in February, our president had invited the farmer who owns the land along to this committee meeting. We spent some time discussing our position with him and he has come up with what has to be described as a refreshing answer to our problem.

He offered to let us camp in the top flat overlooking our grounds. This will make our camping grounds some forty feet above the river. We will need to run power to the sites, and plant shelter belts to screen around the new camp grounds.

This will allow us to use the existing facilities that we worked so hard to put in place, as well as stay at the grounds in confidence. The solution effectively gives us bigger grounds with very little cost and a mild dose of effort.

The club now has hope, perhaps we will end up with even better grounds than we had before the flood. The real problem is going to be, can the few loyal members that are left take on this challenge as well as build a big enough membership to survive. Time will tell.

Letters to the Editor

Of course, all this is more easily said than done, particularly by me, writing from the other end of the Earth, but I hope to hear of you making progress in your country's special Anniversary year.

W. (Billy) Bud

Dear Billy,

The video "Newd Zealand" is a production of Heritage Video, a British company. The NZNF had no say on its title. I would like to think Heritage Video may consider your alternative titles.

Editor

Dear Editor

I would like to congratulate you on the quality and content of the latest Naturist. The articles were informative and family oriented. I am sure any one wishing to enjoy the benefits of social nudity but lacking information or concerned as to how to make the first approach or contact, may well be tempted to enquire further after reading your latest articles. I know I would but I am probably biased, being a happy nudist myself.

Why is the magazine not numbered or dated. I am not really interested in outdated material. Accordingly I hesitate to purchase the magazine, one does not always remember the cover. Now if I feel this way perhaps there are many more with similar reservations. Circulation could be suffering as a result. Another point: why not caption the pics. I am sure other readers would like to know the locality to assist in their future travel plans.

Keep up the good work.

Best wishes John - Whangarei

Dear Sir,

As an overseas subscriber with a great interest in the Southern Hemisphere I hope that I may offer some friendly comment on matters in the March Issue No. 132.

1. I was pleased to see in the article 'Aims ever to the Fore' that the idea of clothes optional should be resisted. As I see it, unless there is a special reason for someone to remain dressed, it does not 'feel right' for clothed and unclothed people to mingle together. This was brought home to me when I saw a recent episode of an American TV Hospital series St. Elsewhere. As an experiment an operation was to be performed with the staff, men and women, completely naked except for hygienic face masks. All was going well until a further member of staff came in fully dressed and with a flippant manner. The harmony that had existed was immediately broken and it was the naked people that felt uncomfortable, as their serene atmosphere had been shattered by the interruption. I take this as an example for the need to have separate areas / beaches for nudists and clothed people so that neither will feel 'violated' or upset by the intrusion of the other.

2. Regarding the proposed video Newd Zealand, I think you are being led astray with this title as 'Newd' will inevitably be associated with the word 'Lewd' i.e. obscene. Why you should want to use a gimmick in the title puzzles me as I have always thought of New Zealand people as being straight forward.

A simple Nude New Zealand would be direct but hardly the right style, so may I suggest some alternative headings and sub-titles - Naturist New Zealand (The Bare Idea), New Zealand Naturally (Where to go Bare) or Perhaps Paradise (A Nude Review of New Zealand). Whatever the title I do hope the photo on the cassette will be as tasteful as the front cover of Issue 129, in fact why not use it.

3. Lastly, in "To Close, or or not to Close" it was said that Clubs do not advertise enough. This is probably true but it is Naturism / Nudism itself which should be brought to the attention of the public. If someone is hooked on fishing, he will then go and find the best places to fish, but first and foremost he will have had to be introduced to the sport. Likewise Naturism, and although social nudity has never been a high profile activity, it will need to change to make headway. If I may make a comparison with the so called 'gay' people, they were never spoken of in the past, but now here they are campaigning for their 'rights' and having plays, films and television series feature them worldwide.

If nudists could really 'come out' and promote interest in their lifestyle and a national organisation obtain a legal position on beaches, then the whole situation could take a big step forward.

Our view has been substantiated by:

1)  Several public opinion polls of the past two decades;

2) The unrestricted availability of magazines depicting full nudity. There are three nudist magazines sold openly and without age restriction throughout New Zealand;

3) A Radio NZ 'Insight' programme broadcast some five/six years ago in which I, as Chairman of the Free Beach Group, took part. The programme was called "Changing Attitudes to Social Nudity in New Zealand", and included comments from many participants. One of these was an Inspector from the Police Legal Department in Wellington. He confirmed our often stated opinion that nudity was not in itself illegal, and that the only real threat to nude bathers was from Section 4 of the Summary Offences Act, relating to offensive behaviour.

Just what is, or is not offensive, cannot be laid down by law, and for this reason the Act adopted the grounds on which the Palm Beach conviction was overturned, and rules that, in determining offensiveness, time, circumstance and place must be considered.

Following the ruling of the Appeal Court on the Palm Beach case, the police would regard it as being extremely difficult to acquire a conviction, and are accordingly loath to bring a charge against anyone.

The Free Beach Group has adopted the attitude that so long as members continue to bathe on beaches with a history of nude bathing, they are totally within the law.

The issue of free beaches has until recently been almost exclusively the domain of the Free Beach Group.

Although the establishment of legal free beaches is stated in the rules as being a major objective of the group, we have over the past few years veered away from this approach, as it is our view that all New Zealand beaches are currently legally free.

This view is based on the fact that nudity on beaches is not, nor has ever been, in itself, illegal. What is illegal is indecent exposure or offensive behaviour. Both of these are offences under the Summary Offences Act 1982.

It has been the attitude of the group for many years that mere nudity does not constitute indecent exposure. The group made submissions prior to the enactment of the 1982 Act, and were more than happy with the wording of Section 27, which requires that exposure of the genitals must be both intentional and obscene. While nude bathing is intentional, it is currently not obscene.

Readers who have visited Pacific Sun Club in the past, or who plan to visit Australian clubs in the future, will be happy to know that this splendid site has recently been reorganised and is operating as Pacific Sun Friends. This resort is located about 50km north of Brisbane and is owned and operated by Jan and James Bishop. The following interview with James Bishop should give you all the information you need, but if you need any further details you can write to:

Pacific Sun Friends, Box 678, Caboolture, QLD. 4510 or phone (071) 988-333.

NZN   James, what can you tell me about the history of Pacific Sun Friends?

James The Pacific Sun Club began in 1978 when about 100 people gathered in response to a newspaper ad. The Club did very well and grew to a membership of about 400 over a few years but operational difficulties forced its close a year or two ago. Now Jan and I have reopened it as a clothing optional resort. Many of the former members still come,

but it is open to anyone who wish to make arrangements with us.

NZN   What is the significance of the new name?

James Each of the three words has its own significance. Pacific stands, of course, for the Pacific Ocean, which is only a few kilometres away and the name also derives from peaceful or peace-loving. Sun refers to our love of sunlight and it is also symbolic of illumination, understanding and wisdom - the wisdom of living peacefully with our natural environment. Friends refers to the good fellowship and the company we feel people find here.

NZN   What sort of rules do people need to follow at Pacific Sun Friends?

James Since we wish to foster harmony with the natural environ - and since we are in an area of natural bushland and forest the first rules here are to be careful with fire, with rubbish and with the animals and plants around us. As far as people go, all we ask is that everyone treats each other with natural sympathy and co-operation.

NZN   What facilities do you have at Pacific Sun Friends?

James Our grounds are spacious, with lots of room for camping and an open grassy space of about 10 acres for games or sunning. Most people do camp or stay in their own caravans but we also have two hire vans and will gradually get more. There is a clubhouse, a toilet block with hot showers, a wide river with sandy beaches and on weekends a small kiosk selling cold drinks, chips etc.

NZN    What about sports facilities?

James We have two mini-ten courts and racquets, if you need them, a volleyball court, cricket and petanque equipment if you want to play on the lawns, and of course swimming in the river. There's also a bush walk trail along the river.

NZN  How do you feel about adding modern facilities, such as electricity?

James In keeping with the philosophy of Pacific Sun Friends, we feel that ecologically friendly sources of energy such as sun, wind and water are best. Our caravan and the hot showers both use solar power whenever possible, although we also use a generator and a boiler when necessary. People here are encouraged to use solar power for electricity and hot water, so we do not anticipate putting on mains power. This arrangement seems best to us for independence and economy as well as making ecological good sense.

NZN   What about modern devices, such as spa, sauna or swimming pool?

James We are building a sauna which should be ready soon. A spa and swimming pool may come, but they're further down the track.

NZN  What sort of people do you find Nudists to be in general?

James Nudists are the best type of people. They care about the environment and are responsible; as you can see from the way they care for this land and take care of their rubbish. Nudists are considerate and friendly. I look forward to the day when Nudists will be the majority.

NZN   Whenever a Nude Beach is proposed, people against it trot out the old chestnut about naked people being a bad influence for children.

How, in your opinion does nudism affect children?

James In my experience, all children take very readily to nudism and thoroughly enjoy going naked. There are no bad effects from seeing naked adults at all. Teenagers, it's true, are sometimes shy about undressing themselves, and this is one of the reasons Pacific Sun Friends follows a "clothing optional" policy. Teenagers do not seem to be troubled by seeing adults naked, anymore than children are.

NZN   What about the future of Pacific Sun Friends?

James We have plenty of room here to expand as there is a huge area of open green grass to camp on, so we hope to encourage more visitors. At present we get about 50 people on an average weekend, but there's room for a lot more. As numbers increase, we will continue to try to offer more and better facilities. We welcome New Zealanders to come to visit us, and we think they will be glad they did!

NZN  I have heard that some Australian Clubs and Resorts can be expensive, is yours?

James I think you will find Pacific Sun Friends will be the lowest cost holiday that you could have.

BAY OF PLENTY SUN CLUB

B.O.P. has had a very successful and happy summer season with lots of visitors and members camping, due in no small measure to the efforts of our caretakers, but we must not forget the others who helped with routine cleaning and maintenance, and the parents who organised a slippery slide for the children which provided so much enjoyment for the young and young at heart. If your club has a spare grassy slope, a plentiful water supply, a short length of hose pipe full of holes and a long piece of polythene sheeting, I can recommend that you bring them all together and you'll keep the kids occupied for hours.

We try to cater for families in our club as at holiday times we seem to have more children on the grounds than adults. A huge tractor inner tube and two paddles have kept many youngsters happy in the creek which we are fortunate enough to have running through the property and the deeper water, which builds up behind the dam, affords safe boating on this small scale.

Garry and I have been standing in as caretakers for the past two months whilst our regular couple took a well-deserved break. Despite the drop in numbers using the grounds since the schools returned, a steady trickle of visitors and members has kept us busy at the weekends but we have resorted to talking to our two resident goats, Bop and Sunshine on quiet days. These two "scrub clearers" were originally up on the high plateau where the ground drops away very steeply down to the stream. Oil drums had been provided for shelter and the first day we were in charge, one of the little devils pushed his drum over the edge whence it crashed a path through the trees and stopped about halfway down the cliff. After having to haul the drum and Garry back up with tow ropes, I made sure he placed them very carefully from then on.

Our first Annual General Meeting to be held in April has passed and just enough members were "persuaded" to accept office or serve on the committee. We have retained five of the previous committee, two returned after a couple of years rest and two are new, including the Secretary. I am sure all our members wish them every success in the forthcoming year. Let us not allow the dedication of two or our long serving members who have stepped down from the committee this year, to go unnoticed.

To our Secretary of the past three and a half years and her husband, we extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for all the hours of hard work they have put into the club over a period of, I believe, fourteen years - and I make no apology for singling them out.

Garry and I will be away for a while on our travels around New Zealand, starting in Ruakaka for the movanners' A.G.M. and Easter Rally then proceeding as far North as we can go without falling off the end, so if you see our camper van "Gipsy 1" in the next few months, please give us a toot or a wave. See you in Christchurch for the next N.Z.N.F. rally if not before.

THE AUCKLAND SUN CLUB

If you believe in ghosts do not come and spend the night in our club house!! One weekend in late March two of our members did just that. They said what with the creaking of the building as it cooled, the banging of the boiler as the fire died, the sighing and the screeching of the branches outside, coupled with the vocal and pedestrianic sounds of the outside nocturnal life, the only thing that was missing was the rattling of chains. Then Scrooge himself would have appeared. But our pertinacious pair said they enjoyed the complete weekend.

In February we were pleased to host the Hibiscus Coast Sun Club on a return visit. Another brilliant day! Our chef, cooks and scullery maids combined together and produced a wonderful Chinese style bar-be-que. No mean feat to serve up hot to over a hundred people whose appetites had already been whetted by the wonderful aroma and a complimentary glass of wine. Most delicious!

After sinking into a contented stupor a half-hearted attempt to arouse everyone to take part in a little semi-strenuous activity was made. To no avail. Perhaps it was the invitation to take partners for a three-legged race, and then select which leg to be chopped off by some P.P. wielding a machete was more of a deterrent than an encouragement.

Several fundraising raffles were held during the afternoon. A point to ponder. Our eldest guest won a small pail of Leggo. Second childhood?

Perhaps these exchange visits may become an annual event, replacing the round of interclub visits, which in the Auckland area at least, could take up almost every weekend during the height of the season.

Another memorable evening was spent at the clubhouse to bid a temporary farewell to Ron and Hanna as the time for their long planned European tour drew near. During this trip they will represent the N.Z.N.F. at the I.N.F. conference in Zurich. Lucky them to have three summers in a row.

Great use was made of the new powered caravan sites this last summer. Some of our members have moved up from tents to camping trailers. Others from caravan to camper-van. The more conventional caravan still seems to be a great favourite. A bit more cumbersome to tow maybe but infinitely more comfortable than a tent the latter being tried out by some newer members for the first time. More hard core has had to be spread over the area as it was getting well churned up with the continuous use. Quite a few odd jobs have been completed recently. The next major one will be the replacement of the ceiling as the earlier condensation has ruined the gib board.

PALMERSTON NORTH SUN CLUB

We enjoyed having a number of visitors and social events in the waning months of the summer season. By having a mini-rally and open weekend in January we were able to attract more visitors and new members than we did from November's open days. Wanganui Sun Club used our grounds for their sports weekend. We were pleased to see them all in good spirits despite the flooding of their grounds and clubhouse from the backwaters of the river. In February we had a feast of farm-fresh food at a member's barbeque and in March a wine party at Himitangi Wines following a working bee on the soakage pit of our toilet block. Party poopers were allowed to attend, considering the state of their earlier ministrations!

Although Heritage Video came to our grounds in mid-week, we were able to muster a sufficient number of young and older members to give the camera crew some interesting and different footage. We look forward to seeing the finished product and plan to have a film evening to show our members the delights of other clubs around the country.

WAIKATO OUTDOOR SOCIETY

My research leads me to believe that it is several years since the Waikato Outdoor Society contributed to this column. As there are no strangers here it is our pleasure to share a few thoughts with you all.

What has been happening up on our mountain slopes? Plenty, but let's go back to the beginning of 1989, where we all sat around a pile of ash and rubble contemplating our next move. What should we do? What could we do? Can we afford to re-build. Will the arsonist return?

Despondency was soon replaced with motivation and enthusiasm, became infectious as members rallied to the call to clean up the site and prepare for re-building. Yes, plans were quickly put into action with the aim to be operational by Christmas 1990.

With our goals now firmly established, twelve months down the track we were able to celebrate the opening of our new club house. The spirit was there and with such a dedicated team giving freely of their time, it was amazing how quickly the building was constructed.

Members have enjoyed this summer, pottering around, relaxing, playing sport, swimming or just lazing in the sun, a just reward for their hard work. However be assured we will not be resting on our laurels as we move further into 1990. There is still plenty to do around the grounds and pool.

In spite of our year being an extremely busy one, we have had time for social activities. A large contingent of members attended the rally in Wellington and more than one sporting trophy came back with them. Recently an inter-club visit was arranged with South Auckland and believing that inter-club visits can do nothing but good, many of our members attended this happy day enjoying hospitality par excellence. Thanks heaps South Auckland for your warm friendly welcome.

Yes, fellow nudists we at W.O.S. are very much on the map and should you be passing this way - we say to our friends - welcome.

GISBORNE COUNTRY CLUB

Winter is closing in and members are showing less tendency to use the grounds as the days get cooler. However, the sauna evenings, each Friday night are starting to attract a few away from their T.V. sets to make a relaxing start to the weekend.

We have a steady trickle of campers using the club over the summer and this has once again shown a trend for non-nudists finding a dress-optional club to experience the naturists way of life. Almost 80% of our visitors had never belonged to a nudist club and of these most had already been patrons at Mapua. We have recommended that they approach clubs in their home towns to further their adventures into the naturist way of life.

The club has not had any major social functions in recent months but our highlight has been a very successful working-bee to raise funds. We had a 90% turn-out of members armed with hammers and nails to repair pallets in a local carrier's yard and raised a very tidy sum for four hours work.

Membership is static but we have had a steady flow of enquiries from the public, regarding our facilities and we are hopeful that we may show an increase soon.

WELLINGTON SUN CLUB

Things have slowed down considerably in Wellington since the rally and apart from the club sports there has been very little activity. We held a "farewell to Summer barbeque" the week after daylight saving finished and our social officer and her helpers made trays of salad to go with meat; all in all it was a very pleasant Sunday lunch. Since that weekend the weather has been very patchy, including Easter and our thoughts are now turning to indoor activities.

We start our swim nights on 29th April and the Free Beach will once again be joining us. It's a great way of keeping in touch with everyone and makes a very pleasant start to the week. On May 20th we are having our A.G.M. and hope to see some new faces on the committee.

FREE BEACH GROUP

This year, for the first time ever, the Free Beach Group held two advertised Open Days. We sent off advertisements and a short article to all the Auckland suburban newspapers, giving a contact telephone number. The full article appeared in only one paper, but others printed shortened versions. The telephone was red-hot for more than a week, and we are still fielding the odd call, months later. In fact the main outcome of the Open Day was the publicity generated through these free local newspapers.

St Leonard's Beach on the Open Day was fairly crowded, with about three hundred bathers, half of them nude. Several prospective members came up and spoke to us, and some joined on the spot.

In March, the Wellington Free Beach Group, went ahead with an Open Day at Breaker Bay. The weather was perfect, and the beach was very busy, with nude and clad folk the entire length. A crowd of over thirty Free Beach Group members and potential members gathered around the group's Fred Bear flag. The Open Day was publicised by an article in the 'Contact' newspaper, and a paid advertisement giving a name and phone number. The telephone was kept busy for several days, and all calls were positive.

Building up club membership is all very well, but the aims of the Free Beach Group are broader than that: to establish legal free beaches, and to promote public acceptance of nudity. It is a tribute to the vision of our founders that these objectives continue to challenge us. Our real task is to help as many people as possible to discover how pleasant it is to be naked out in the open.

NEW ZEALAND CLUB DIRECTORY

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

new zealand

naturist

No. 133 June 1990

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

Business Manager:

Frank Murphy

Typesetting and Artwork by:

Ad Service, P.O. Box 22271, Otahuhu

Plates by:

Ellar Litho Graphics Ltd, East Tamaki

Printed by:

Aarkon Printing Ltd.
P.O. Box 38065, 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 1359. Wellington.
NEW ZEALAND

President: June Campbell-Tong
Wellington 356-918

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

PHOTO CREDITS

Robert Broekstra - F.C.

Freddy Karstensen - I.F.C., P.1, P.17, P.20

Hub - P.2, P.3

Leif Heilberg - P5, P8, P.10, P16, P17, P.23

Doug Ball - P11, P12, B.C.

Vic Herring - P.13, P14

STATE ASSOCIATIONS:

Nudist Association of Victoria,*

P.O. Box 313,
Reservoir 3073

Nudist Association
of Queensland,*

P.O. Box 442,
Woodridge Qld 4114.

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

DEADLINES FOR COPY

134 September 1990 - 15th July 1990

135 December 1990 - 1st October 1990

136 March 1990 - 30th January 1991

137 June 1991 - 20th April 1991