By Denis Gregory
December 1 2002
The Sun-Herald
Two keen nudists are having a tough time trying to convince councils to approve NSW's first inland nudist beach.

Loma and Trevor Harrison have had their application knocked back by Leeton Shire Council and are preparing an application for Murrumbidgee Shire Council.

There are dozens of small sandy beaches along the Murrumbidgee River that are used for swimming, boating and fishing. Maccas Beach, the one preferred by the nudists, is on the north-eastern corner of Murrumbidgee Shire adjoining Leeton Shire.

Leeton Shire environmental officer Brian McKellar said the nude beach proposal raised lots of difficult issues for the Department of Water Resources, the council and State Forests, which owned the land adjoining the river.

These included maintenance of an access road to the popular sandy beaches, public liability and toilet facilities. The preferred beach was also close to a high school.


"The council was not particularly interested because of all these problems," Mr McKellar said.

"The main reason the applicants wanted the beach designated clothes optional was to protect nudists if our ranger came along and issued a few fines. They wanted an area they could advertise in national magazines for other nudists to use."

Murrumbidgee Shire environmental officer Bob Crawford said the Harrisons had submitted an informal proposal for a clothes-optional beach and he would have detailed talks with them before reporting to the council's next meeting.

He said it was the same proposal they had put to Leeton council.

"They're probably looking for privacy for people to take off their clothes but they're also suggesting an influx
of other nudists for special occasions," he said.

"Public access and the facilities that would be needed to cater for lots of people are the concerns because there's none there now."

The moral aspect of it will be left to comments by the public when the development application is advertised.

Ms Harrison said if she could get council approval, it would be the first legal nudist beach on a river in country NSW. "We don't represent a group; we just want somewhere to go where we can enjoy ourselves," she said.

"It's on State Forest land but we can't advertise the beach as clothes optional unless it's designated by the council and signs are put up so that other people who want to use it aren't offended."

Ms Harrison said up to 15 people would use the beach to swim.

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