Nudist beach set to shrink

POINT IMPOSSIBLE nudist beach is set to shrink today after authorities discovered that signage marking the beach’s boundaries had been in the wrong place for decades.

The Great Ocean Road Coast & Parks Authority released a statement saying the beach would undergo a realignment of its signage to accurately reflect the legally designated clothing-optional area.

“Authorities discovered a misalignment between the legally gazetted map and the actual location of the signage on the ground,” the statement said.

Nudity will remain prohibited in the dunes and all areas not indicated by signs on the beach.

Australian Naturist Federation Victorian state representative Michael James welcomed the changes.

“We did not want to see visitors at the clothing-optional beach at risk of police prosecution or action by being outside an area they believed was correct,” Mr James said.

“So, we are totally supportive of the moving of the signs; it’s unfortunate that it has resulted in a lessening of the length of the beach area by roughly 300 metres.

“All that has happened is the signs have been moved back to the original gazetted location.”

There are three legal clothing-optional beaches in Victoria. The other two are South Side at Bells Beach and Sunnyside North Beach in the Mornington Peninsula Shire.

A 2022 survey by the Mornington Peninsula Shire found 90% of respondents were in favour of keeping Sunnyside as a clothing optional beach.

Beach users at Point Impossible are asked to observe signs on the beach and keep dogs on a lead at all times.

Visitors are also asked to avoid startling the endangered hooded plovers nesting at the northern end of the beach.