Controversial beach item seen on Gold Coast shores
The divisive beach accessory that sparked nationwide outrage last summer has made its return to Aussie shorelines, triggering fresh tension among beachgoers.
In the surest sign yet that summer is approaching, a controversial beach item that has been a staple on Aussie beaches since 2023 has been spotted on the Gold Coast.
Nic, better known as Guncle Diaries on social media, rose to fame last summer due to his vocal disdain for cabanas.
It seems this year is no different. He took to social media after making the “first spotting of the season” of a beach cabana down on the sand.
“Our first cabana has entered the chat,” he said in a video posted over the weekend.
“Summer is imminent. It’s coming. One has been spotted on the Gold Coast, girls.”
Several social media users weighed in on the clip.
“Noooo Cool Cabana season,” one social media user commented.
Another said: “Should have seen Noosa last weekend. Packed with Cabanas!”
“I refuse. I have a beach umbrella. That’s enough,” one said.
Another added: “The first of many.”
“Cabanas in Pyjamas are coming down the stairs,” one said.
Nic made his feelings known about the beach accessory last summer, with the TikToker praising locations such as Sydney’s Northern Beaches and the concrete area at the iconic Clovelly Beach as the “place to be” as there are no cabanas in sight.
In another clip he counted how many cabanas there were on a beach, saying there were “up to eight”, adding there was “no room on the beach”.
He said people should be “charged for the space” they take up, adding they took up “prime real estate” at the beach.
He wasn’t the only one to complain about the divisive shade accessory, which has been making waves for two summers now.
One social media user accused people of setting up their cabanas only to sit outside the shaded area in direct sunlight.
“What do you mean you’ve got three CoolCabanas and you’re still sitting outside of them?” she asked rhetorically.
Almost 11,000 readers responded to a news.com.au poll in January asking whether it is “okay to reserve a spot on the beach with a cabana” after reports that some people pop up their tent simple to grab a coveted spot, and then don’t even use it.
One camp — the no vote — garnered a whopping 82 per cent of the vote. Just 15 per cent said it was OK and 3 per cent were undecided.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also weighed in on the issue, saying it “wasn’t on” to set up your cabana and then leaving the beach completely to be able to return later.
“One of the great things about Australia, unlike some parts of the world, you go and you got to pay to go to the beach,’’ Mr Albanese said.
“Here, everyone owns the beach. Everyone. And it’s a place where every Australian is equal. And that’s a breach of that principle, really, to think that you can reserve a little spot as just yours.”
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Originally published as Controversial beach item seen on Gold Coast shores
