Locals protesting closure of Byron Bay nudist beach win reprieve until winter

Protestors fighting to keep a Byron Bay nudist beach open have been given a few months’ reprieve, with the planned shut down pushed back until the end of June.

Tyagarah Beach has been operating as a nudist bathing spot since 1998, when Byron Bay Shire Council officially declared part of its shoreline as “clothing optional”.

However, a land survey conducted in 2023 revealed NSW Parks and Wildlife Service (NWPS) was the managing authority of the 800m stretch of beach, not the council.

In a letter addressed to Byron Bay Shire Council in December last year, the NPWS wrote it did not support the nudist beach as it was “not consistent with the values the reserve is managed under”.

At a council meeting last Thursday, councillors voted in favour of a motion acknowledging it did not have the authority to make Tyagarah Beach “clothing optional” and therefore its 1998 decision was “redundant”.

The motion also said the council would work with NPWS to remove “clothing optional” signage from the area by June 30.

While NWPS had originally requested the council remove “clothing optional” signage from the beach by April 8, more time had since been requested for the parks and wildlife service to conduct community consultation, the meeting heard.

At the end of an hour-long debate, Labor Councillor Asren Pugh said the matter had been taken out of the council’s hands.

“This (motion) is just noting what exists in reality, it is just noting the facts on the ground… because there is nothing we can do about it anyway,” Pugh said.

In a speech against the recommendation, Greens Councillor Duncan Dey said he supported nude bathing.

“It’s very normal, it’s a good thing to do,” he said, adding that if it was up to him, Byron Bay’s Main Beach would be made “clothing optional”.

“I would make Main Beach the ‘clothing optional’ beach,” he said.

“The safest place is the most public place. There is nowhere to hide, the police are about two minutes away. It would be ideal. But I am also a dreamer; it may not happen.”

Dey said locals speaking up against the NPWS’s announcement had forced the service to agree to a period of community consultation.

“National parks have agreed that they have to consult, it’s a good thing and the community has achieved that,” Dey said.

Bradley Benham, from Byron Naturists, told 9news.com.au his group had met with NPWS staff before the council meeting.

“I think it became clear to them then that they had opened a pretty big can of worms and it wasn’t something they could just get rid of so easily,” Benham said.

In a nude protest organised by Byron Naturists, around 150 people gathered at Tyagarah Beach sans clothes on February 18 to share their outrage at the planned closure of the nude beach by NPWS.

Benham said there were other nudist bathing sites in NSW, all managed by NWPS, and he was hopeful that the service could be convinced to change their position on whether Tyagarah Beach was an appropriate “clothing optional” location.

The nudist beach, which is one of few remaining legal spots in NSW to bathe nude, has been a source of controversy in recent years, with the council and police fielding complaints about lewd behaviour and sex pests frequenting the area.

In 2018, Byron Bay Shire Council rejected a recommendation to close down the nude beach, instead opting to install CCTV cameras as extra security.

A NPWS spokesperson told 9news.com.au earlier this month that a final decision on the clothing-optional area had not been made.

“The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) will continue to work with relevant stakeholders to identify alternative locations for the activity to take place,” the spokesperson said.

An online petition started by Benham to keep the nudist beach open has so far attracted more than 6,000 signatures.