If you drive about an hour south of Melbourne, to the Mornington Peninsula and turn off Sunnyside Road to the carpark, walk over the rocks and past a concrete wall, you'll arrive at a small stretch of sand that is one of Victoria's few "clothing-optional" beaches.
But maybe not for much longer.
The local council is considering asking the state government to remove the legal protection for naturists at Mount Eliza's Sunnyside North Beach. And the naturists are preparing for a fight.
Michael, who lives nearby, has been using the beach regularly for about 25 years.
He runs a Facebook group called "Keep Sunnyside Beach Clothing Optional", and doesn't want his last name used for privacy reasons.
He said that Sunnyside was a nice beach, but was small, rocky and not easy to access.
"It's not what you'd call an overly attractive or desirable beach for most people," he said.
"Except, many thousands of naturists use it every year, it's quite a popular beach by around 9am or 10am on a warm, summer day," he said.
Michael said the atmosphere was similar to any Victorian beach.
"The people who go to the beach, in the vast majority, are people like you and I," he said.
Attracting 'illegal, inappropriate activities'
The Mornington Peninsula Shire Council is considering asking locals whether they want the beach to remain clothing-optional.
A report to be tabled at this week's council meeting says the beach was classed as "clothing-optional" in 1986, but the beach and its carpark had recently become "an area attracting people engaging in illegal, inappropriate activities".
"Anecdotal evidence suggests drug use and sexual activities take place regularly at the carpark and beach during all times of the day and night, resulting in hazardous rubbish, such as syringes, being left on the beach and within the carpark, and surrounding bluffs," the report said.
It said the problems were not specifically associated with the clothing-optional status of the beach, but said the fact it was secluded made it difficult to police.
Council will consider asking locals whether they want the state government to remove the beach's clothing-optional status.
'Totally legal'
There are three beaches in Victoria that are legally classed as "clothing-optional": Sunnyside North Beach, Point Impossible, near Torquay, and one at Southside, at nearby Point Addis.
There have been fights across Australia over the past five years to retain nudist beaches, including at Byron Bay in northern NSW and Broome in WA.
Michael said Sunnyside was the closest to Melbourne and should remain clothing optional.
"This beach should be retained for naturists to enjoy their totally legal activity, they're not hurting anyone else, and there's no chance of someone being accidentally offended because it's totally out of the way," he said.
He said inappropriate behaviour happened at most beaches, including at Sunnyside, where people might not be wearing clothes.
"There can be a small element of people who take that as an opportunity to have a bit of a perv or something worse, that can happen on these beaches or on any beach," he said.
Michael said beach users wanted the council to improve access to the beach, so it could be better policed.
The council will consider focusing on consulting with locals in March, including a mailout to about 100 nearby houses.
