NAKED swimmers and sunbathers on Bunbury’s Back Beach are not something families need to be confronted with, according to a local beachgoer.
South Bunbury resident Jacinta Goerke was walking her dog along the Back Beach last month when she came across a man standing naked in the sand dunes.
A horrified Ms Goerke claimed the man was openly masturbating on the public beach.
“I was shocked and looked away immediately, then I thought ‘why is he doing that?’” she said.
“There were families and young children down by the water right in front of where the man was standing.”
Australind police officer in charge Sergeant Craig Wood said cases of wilful exposure should be reported to police.
A 500 metre stretch of the coast of South Bunbury is a nudist beach designated by the City of Bunbury.
There is a sign to inform people of the nudist beach at the top of the roadside steps but there are currently no signs on the beachfront.
Ms Georke said that people taking a stroll along the sand could unknowingly enter the nude beach without realising where it started and stopped.
Ms Goerke said she believed the nude beach had “had its day” and should be closed down.
“I’m an open-minded person, but I don’t think the Back Beach is an appropriate place for a nudist beach,” she said.
“The beach is a popular place for families and Bunbury is a family community, so I don’t think it belongs here.”
City of Bunbury community law and safety officer John Kowal said signs notifying people of the nudist beach were washed away each winter.
He said the signs were in the process of being replaced and would be erected before Christmas.
Mr Kowal said he received very few complaints about the nudist beach from residents.
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