Miners Beach: Nudity banned as police investigate act of indecency
Police have launched a new operation to crackdown on Miners Beach nudity in the wake of ongoing reports of indecent and obscene behaviour.
Mid-North Coast
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Dozens of reports of indecent and obscene behaviour at Miners Beach, including one serious matter that police are close to finalising, has forced authorities to outlaw all nudist activity.
Port Macquarie Police, in collaboration with Port Macquarie-Hastings Council and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services, launched Operation Coast on Monday to put a halt to the beach’s unofficial title as an nudist bathing spot.
Operation Coast has been launched in response to an alarmingly high number of reports regarding disturbing male behaviour.
“There has been a long held belief that Miners Beach is a public nudist Beach,” Police Inspector Mick Aldridge said.
“That is not the case. It is not designated under the NSW Act.”
“A lot of the complaints we are receiving are people with young children. These are not just isolated incidents, they are increasing and it’s concerning.”
Operation Coast will be rolled out over a three-month period, randomly, and will include a mix of both educational and enforcement-based policing by way way of move on directions or fines.
More serious reports of indecent or obscene exposure could lead to further investigation and criminal charges.
Mr Aldridge said police are close to finalising an investigation into one matter involving a man, described as well built, who it is alleged approached females while wilfully exposing himself.
“They were confronted and scared, and it has made them not go back,” Mr Aldridge said.
“They have expressed that they haven’t been back since … we don’t want that to occur.
“People want to use the beach for their own recreational purposes, to get away, have a break from the mayhem. Some recent incidences happening about a month or so ago, are quite confronting.”
The Mid-North Coast News spoke to three men at Miners Beach on Monday, all of whom were under the presumption that beach was a legislated nudist beach.
One man said he would still run the risk of bathing there nude, even with the restrictions in place.
Miners Beach, at the very southern end of the Port’s popular tourism drawcard – its coastal walk – is now visited by more than 500,000 people a year.
The beach was incorporated into the 9km trail, which spans Town Beach to Tacking Point Lighthouse, some years back.
It is no longer the secluded stretch of sand where people could once duck down for a quick nude dip, given the walk is now the number one activity to do in Port Macquarie on TripAdvisor.
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services Area Manager Shane Robinson said it was time the beach was exhibited for its natural beauty, and not its nudity.
“The Port Macquarie coastal walk has become very popular in recent years, especially so since the restrictions on COVID have lifted,” Mr Robinson said.
“A lot of people are wanting to get outdoors and exercise … and we’ve certainly seen in recent months an explosion in people who have visited the coastal walk especially the section in the Sea Acres National Park.
“There are a rising number of complaints from members of the public, especially visitors to the area, families and young kids who are doing the walk and who are upset by what they are experiencing on the walk.”
Inspector Aldridge said ‘nobody wants to be confronted like that.’
“We are trying to attract people to our beautiful area and the coastal walk is one of the most attractive parts of the north coast.”
He said there are also unofficial reports that the beach is known as place for arranged and consensual homosexual activity known as a ‘beat.’
There are only five official nudist beaches in the whole of NSW, which are designated as such under the Local Government Act.
The majority of them are in Sydney, and include Lady Bay Beach, Cobblers Beach, Obelisk Beach, Werrong Beach and Samurai Beach.
Signs have now been erected at all entry points to the beach advising that nudity is prohibited.
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