SAUNA

Still steaming on Sunday nights

Place

Aladdin's Bathhouse, 433 Richmond Road, Grey Lynn

Time

Every Sunday from 5pm onwards (even over Xmas)

Cost

$6.50 including free coffee & fruit drinks.

Social Nights

Second Sunday of every month.

WELLINGTON NEWS May - June 1992

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION - THE BREAKER BAY EXPERIENCE

It was a brilliant summer's day in Switzerland ten years ago, when I was thoroughly enjoying a bus journey towards the lake district in the centre of the country. As the bus travelled through one particular town, it passed by a school where a group of about forty girls were performing gymnastic exercises in a playing field. There's nothing strange about that, and I thought it all the more admirable when I perceived that roughly thirty of them were completely naked. There they were, in complete view of any passer-by.

I was edified, and what impressed me the most was the attitude of the other people in the bus. Apart from those who were sleeping or reading, the passengers who saw the girls didn't react in any adverse manner at all: everyone took it in their stride, as something perfectly acceptable.

I could quote any number of similar experiences in Europe, and during the six years that I lived there, I have enjoyed the same possibility of practising my nudism very freely in public, be it at public swimming baths, in parks, or strolling through vineyards and orchards.

The whole point is this: such open practice of nudism has not always been accepted. It has become accepted because more and more people have exercised their right to practise nudism, and acceptance has grown in proportion to people's awareness of and familiarity with it.

Returning now to New Zealand after 14 years overseas, except for a period back home two years ago, I would simply like to encourage and exhort Free Beach Group members, and anybody of similar lifestyle, not to back down in any way: go out and practise your nudism with as much boldness as is prudently and practically possible. Nudism will never become generally accepted in our country until sufficient numbers of people become familiar with it. Acceptance will come with increased familiarity.

That is why I would warn our members that our task is far from accomplished in New Zealand. A glance at our beach directory suffices to show how remote and obscure the vast majority of our free beaches are. The population will not accept our nudism if we are gong to frequent places rarely visited by others.

Therefore, in my opinion - and I am only putting forward a few personal ideas without prompting from anyone else - we Free Beach Group members might be wise to concentrate more particularly on a few beaches that we use regularly, rather than dispersing ourselves thinly over a large region.

And on those beaches, we ought to be as bold as possible according to the "naked circumstances" of each particular beach.

In Wellington, this means that we can play volleyball and cricket at Breaker Bay, and not feel that we have to restrict ourselves to sunbathing and swimming. This is "Affirmative Action", applied to our own cause. Affirmative

Action works, because it educates. It can be applied to all sorts of fields from pay equity to racial issues to nudism.

Affirmative action has been applied over the last two summers at Breaker Bay. Free Beach Group members, and other nude members of the general public, have moved away from the rocks at the far end, and installed themselves about two thirds of the way closer to the car-park, within sight of the houses just above the car-park.

These naked people have been in clear and obvious vision of individuals and families walking up and down the beach, and it has become a very accepted state, with no adverse comments from anyone. Quite a camaraderie has grown between those who use "our" part of the beach regularly: I can honestly say that, by now, I am on first-name terms with the majority of regular bathers in our area.

This migration away from the rocks really occurred two summers ago, but nudist activities were somewhat restricted to swimming, sunbathing and strolling. During this summer which is now coming to a close, our activities have become more open, with cricket and volleyball: non Free Beach members have also joined in, and some have subsequently become members. The presence of families with children amidst these naked activities has certainly contributed towards their acceptance by the public, and I am confident that, next year, we will be able to use the full beach at our leisure and for our pleasure.

This situation has only come about progressively, through increased exposure, so to speak, over a period of time. This time period has given the public, and the police, the opportunity to see how harmless we are, and to give their tacit consent, thereby allowing us the freedom to which we have a natural right. In this regard, approaches by Grant and Marilyn to local authorities have been very positive and fruitful.

I am sure that the "Breaker Bay Experience" would also work elsewhere. Within the larger Wellington area, Peka Peka beach would be an ideal subject for an affirmative action campaign over a number of years. In this respect, I'll take the plunge and express my personal opinion about the Free Beach Group's movement northwards at Peka Peka. While there may indeed be good reasons for moving northwards, I personally think that a progressive movement to the south would ultimately be more beneficial for our cause. Once again, we cannot hope to become accepted unless we are seen. Being seen over a relatively long period of time would create a tolerance that would eventually develop into general acceptance by the public at large.

Anyway, those are just a few thoughts and I hope they are accepted in the constructive manner in which they are intended.

NOTE: This article "Affirmative Action - The Breaker Bay Experience", by Frank Peek has also been submitted to the New Zealand Naturist.

Frank Peek

BUREAUCRATIC BLUNDER

After reading Frank's article about his experiences in Europe and at Wellington's Breaker Bay, I was shocked to watch the late night News on TV3 this week (week ending 4 April).

WELLINGTON NEWS continued...

The Council recently drafted a by-law requiring genitals to be covered on beaches under their control. This draft was rejected for three reasons. Firstly it was considered the draft was inappropriate as it applied to children under five years of age. Secondly the use of the word "genitals" was seen as sexist since it targeted men. Lastly [it] was suggested that this decision might be better made at parliamentary level.

In my opinion the proposed by-law is a serious threat to nudism in New Zealand. As nudists we may find ourselves victims of police interest. Recently an article appeared in a national publication that discussed how gay men and nudists are being targeted as part of a "clean up" campaign at Pohutukawa Bay, Auckland. The explanation offered by Rob Small, Manager of Parks and Reserves for the Auckland Regional Council, was that police action is required because of complaints received about women being pestered by nude men.1

I think the Auckland Regional Council and the police have adopted a solution to this problem which is heavy-handed. They are banning ALL nudity to stop the few instances of irresponsible behaviour. This is an infringement of our rights as irresponsible behaviour is already prohibited by existing laws. At the moment we can go nude on beaches as long as we are not offensive to others. The proposed by-law would take away this right.

The local authorities and the police claim to be representing the women who are annoyed. Yet the women are not demanding all nudists be removed, only the men who act offensively. This suggests the authorities are using the women's concerns as an excuse to ban all nude sunbathing.
I believe that they and the police are abusing their power in acting this way, and I am very interested in your views on this issue.

Peter Hooper

RANGI WOODS CAMP

During the weekend of 28th February to 1 March a number of F.B.G. members got together at the YMCA Rangi Woods Camp. There were 14 adults and 5 children present, from Wellington to as far north as Hamilton.

The camp was very well set out with ample room for sleeping, cooking, dining and recreational activities. An aid to families is the ablution facilities which included flush toilets, a shower block where the family can shower together, and plenty of hand basins. The showers in the shower block only had a tap to turn them on and off, the water temperature was set at a comfortable level from the boiler room so no worry about children scalding themselves. The hall has a large open fire which came in useful at night. You have to provide your own wood.

There is a fast flowing, picturesque river running past the camp, so children require close supervision when at the river. The camp and river are surrounded by native bush with well defined walks. A beautiful glow-worm cavern is within walking distance of the camp.

The weather was a mixture over the weekend. It started off fine when we arrived Friday evening, very changeable on Saturday and beautifully fine on Sunday. The nights were very cold but when the sun came out the day warmed up quickly.

The changeable weather on Saturday didn't deter those who wished to enjoy the bush walks, or play volleyball or "cricket". Some people when they weren't playing cricket were listening to the match on the radio. The nights were a time for playing our own version of the charades game "Give Us A Clue". Saturday night was also used to visit the nearby glow-worms by some members.

My family and I found the whole weekend extremely worthwhile, entertaining and very economical. The camp was close enough to Wellington, thus not requiring a lot of travel, which can be a restriction. The roads into the camp provided easy access making it suitable for caravans.

Since this weekend the chi1dren have been asking when we can return to Rangi Woods. At this point I would like to express my thanks to Marilyn and Grant for their organisation of the weekend. I would encourage those who couldn't make it this time to make an extra effort next year, as I feel you would enjoy it.

Odette Greer

SWIM NIGHTS     Sunday: 10 May & June, 1992

SAUNA EVENINGS Friday: 22 May & 26 June, 1992

For more information on both activities see the last newsletter.