Generations of beach bums call this home
THERE is truly nothing new under the sun – especially when bare bums are involved.
A search through the Cairns Post archives from 30 years ago reveals debate aroused by nudists at Buchan Point was just as rife back then.
Committed nudist Clemens Vermeulen was a bearded and buck naked young man when he appeared in the FNQ Sunday newspaper dipping in the Buchan Point water beside then-councillor Lesley Clark in September 1989.
Back then he was the secretary of the FNQ Free Beach Association – a band of naturalists campaigning for legislative changes to allow the official designation of a nude beach, something that still remains illegal in Queensland today.
A fortnight before the article was published, 11 nude sunbathers were arrested at Buchan Point and charged with indecent exposure.
“I have met many of the people who support dress-optional beaches, tourists and locals, and many of them are nice people who are being treated like criminals,” thenmayor Tom Pyne said at the time.
“The State Government has a great opportunity to implement something that has the support of a majority of Queenslanders.”
Thirty years on and Mr Vermeulen is still a dedicated nudist in Cairns – except he seldom goes without kit off his own property.
“I couldn’t tell you what Buchan Point is like now because I have a wonderful backyard that is very well screened,” he said.
Mr Vermeulen believed people had become even more conservative to the notion of nudity in recent years – perhaps as a reaction to so much child abuse around the world.
“Wherever you look, something is really out of order with this society,” he said.
Current Division 9 Cairns Regional Councillor Brett Olds said he had no problem with nudist beaches as long as no lewd behaviour was happening.
“They’ve been there longer than I’ve been in Cairns,” he said.
“Some things we just need to tolerate.”
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