Woman kicked out of Sunshine Coast plaza for ‘feral’ Aussie act

A Queensland woman is furious after being told to leave a shopping centre for committing an act known for being notoriously Australian.

A Queensland woman has claimed she was kicked out of a shopping centre because she wasn’t wearing any shoes, with many labelling the move “un-Australian”.

Australians have become known globally for their habit of being at one with the ground, largely due to Hollywood actor Chris Hemsworth being regularly papped wandering around Byron Bay with his tootsies out.

But it seems not everywhere in Australia is accepting of the barefoot trend, with a woman revealing on Facebook she was ordered out of the Sunshine Plaza during a recent shopping trip because of her lack of footwear.

“Was at Sunshine Plaza today and was asked to leave as I wasn’t wearing any shoes,” she wrote in a local community Facebook page.

“Since when has being barefoot been illegal? Has anyone else been told this?”

A woman who ‘finds it more comfortable with bare feet’ claims she was kicked out of the Sunshine Plaza for not wearing shoes. Picture: Supplied

The quintessential Aussie habit proved divisive among social media users. Picture: news.com.au

Many public venues require visitors to wear closed shoes at all times for health and safety reasons, however it is not a universal policy.

Conditions of entry stated on the Maroochydore shopping centre’s website state “suitable attire including footwear must be worn at all times”.

Her post quickly attracted attention, with many divided over the her footwear statement.

“Why on earth wouldn’t you wear shoes,” one asked.

“Seriously, how hard is it to wear shoes??” someone else agreed.

As one stated: “Always wear shoes except swimming or walking in the sand! It’s scruffy.”

Others pointed out the health and safety implications of not wearing anything on your feet.

“If you walk on broken glass plastic etc they are liable for getting sued. Same reason you can’t do it in a bar/hotel,” one stated.

“You [are] always meant to wear shoes at shops it workplace health and safety,” another agreed.

One woman shared a photo of herself in Woolworths without shoes, arguing it was ‘un-Australian’ to enforce mandatory footwear. Picture: Supplied

Many were outraged the woman was kicked out, stating it was an “un-Australian”.

“Not only is this Australia, but it’s the Sunshine Coast. Going barefoot is a right of passage,” one raged.

“You can’t go in any shop now without shoes even the kids are pinned for it,” another said.

“Everything nowadays is a health and safety issue,” one lamented.

As one argued: “Wow, this is a little crazy. I get the comments on hygiene etc but you can always wash your feet off!”

“Continue doing your thing – shoes or no shoes just stay true to yourself,” one chipped in.

“OMG … that is un-Australian,” someone else declared.

Some even shared photos of themselves shopping barefoot, with one woman stating she’d whizzed around Woolies earlier that day with her toes on full display.

“Just to piss off the haters..... Getting the grocery shopping this afternoon,” she captioned the snap which showed her pushing a trolley sans shoes.

The original poster responded to some of the comments, explaining she “finds it more comfortable with bare feet,” adding she “only wears shoes at work”.

The 'feral' Aussie habit was recently exposed on TikTok. Picture: Supplied

While Aussies have embraced the personality trait, a tourist recently took to TikTok to expose the “feral” habit, in clip that quickly went viral.

“Serious question: why do so many Australians walk around without shoes on?” they asked.

While Aussies defended the action, people from other countries were flat-out disgusted by the naked foot behaviour going on down under.

“This is weird,” someone commented.

“In the USA, no shoes, no shirt, no service,” another shared.

“This looks painful,” someone else said.

“I just couldn’t,” another revealed.