Warnbro Beach in Rockingham WA was Gazetted as a Clothing Optional beach (then referred to as a free beach) back in the early 1990s (I don’t recall the exact year as there was a lot happening at the time).

From the rock groyne (since removed) to the end of Port Kennedy had been an un-official free beach since before the 1950s, according to newspaper clippings.

The land behind the beach had been a Naval gunnery range during WW2 and still contained a lot of unexploded ordinances.

the beach was accessed by a rough dirt track that led to a number of squatters fishing shacks scattered along the back of the dunes. The track was occasionally maintained by the shack owners and their friends and families but not much could be done because of the danger of bumping into a bomb.

All was great until a developer bought the land and wanted to build an extensive and exclusive Golf Course Resort which I believe still exists today.

After a lengthy battle the shacks were demolished followed by bollards being installed in the 4WD access tracks to the beach used by fishermen and campers. These bollards were installed overnight without warning or Council approval while many families, including mine, were camped on the beach. A group of us had to dig them out in the morning to get our vehicles off the beach.

The council were then asked by the developer to close the beach to the public, meaning nudists, and the Mayor Mr Laury S. rang me and gave me a heads up. Laury was a pharmacist and client of my Signwriting business at the time and was aware that I was a regular at the free beach.

The word quickly spread, and I wrote and printed the first 50 petitions on my work 486 computer with dot matrix printer, state of the art tech at the time.

These petitions were distributed by the regulars far and wide and we even had local shops, pubs and a table in Rockingham City Shopping Centre getting more interest than we had enough petitions for. Apollo club got involved as did the Kiosk at Swanbourne Beach.

Local regulars involved came from all walks of life and some deserve a special mention, although some would now be deceased.

Tom and his wife Michael who met in a military hospital in Cairo during WW2. Tom was a downed fighter pilot; Michael was a nurse. By the time I met them, Michael was becoming too frail to negotiate the track through the dunes to the beach, but she still got her friends to sign up.

John, a retired QC who was the collector of the newspaper clippings from 40 years back and presented legal opinions at Council meetings and without whom the beach would not be available to us today.

Two girls who lived across the road from Tom and Michael, one a detective, the other a general duties Police Officer who took the petitions to their respective stations.

The Naval Officer and his fiancé whose names escape me now, who circulated the petitions at their respective workplaces.

There were many others who had their say at the Council meetings and took petitions to collect signatures.

A lot has been forgotten because I’m now 70 and it was just something I did at the time without attaching much importance to it.

The secret of its success, especially pre social media, was the spirit of cooperation and sense of fighting for a common goal that would not just benefit me/us, but generations to come.

I think that those days are gone, probably as a result of social media…. I sincerely hope I’m wrong.

Cheers,

Paul.