Naturism Naturism is a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms ar ...

refers to a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social

nudity Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to ...

in private and in public, and to the

cultural movement A cultural movement is a change in the way a number of different disciplines approach their work. This embodies all art forms, the sciences, and philosophies. Historically, different nations or regions of the world have gone through their own ind ...

which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both are also known as "nudism". Naturist organisations have existed in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

since the 1930s. Although not a daily feature of public life, social nudity is practised in a variety of other contexts in New Zealand culture.

New Zealand Naturist Federation

An attempt to set up a

nudist club A naturist resort or nudist resort is an establishment that provides accommodation (or at least camping space) and other amenities for guests in a context where they are invited to practise naturism – that is, a lifestyle of non-sexual socia ...

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

in 1933 was unsuccessful, attracting hostility from clergy, women's groups, and the police. Nudist clubs (known as "sun clubs") were successfully established in Dunedin and

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

in early 1938; the Auckland Sun Group went into recess shortly afterwards due to the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1953 the allied nudist clubs of New Zealand gathered at

Whanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...

to hold a festival, called a "rally", which became an annual event. At the 1957 rally, held at the Canterbury Sun and Health Club's grounds in

Rolleston Rolleston may refer to: Places * Rolleston, Queensland, Australia * Rolleston, Leicestershire, England * Rolleston, Nottinghamshire, England ** Rolleston railway station * Rolleston on Dove, Staffordshire, England ** Rolleston Hall * Rolleston, ...

near

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, the affiliated clubs agreed to form the New Zealand Sunbathing Association, which was formally established on 1 January 1958. In 1977 the Association was renamed the New Zealand Naturist Federation. In 2016 the Federation in conjunction with

Tourism New Zealand Tourism New Zealand is the marketing agency responsible for promoting New Zealand as a tourism destination internationally. It is the trading name of the New Zealand Tourism Board, a Crown entity established under the New Zealand Tourism Board Ac ...

hosted the World Congress of the International Naturist Federation (INF) at the

Wellington Naturist Club The Wellington Naturist Club is a naturist resort located in Te Mārua, Upper Hutt, northeast of Wellington in the North Island of New Zealand. Its of land hold facilities including a miniature golf course, volleyball court, picnic areas, sp ...

, marking the second time the Congress had ever been held in the Southern Hemisphere. This Congress was marked by political unrest, as sitting INF president Sieglinde Ivo was voted out in favour of French delegate Armand Jamier by a narrow majority. The vote was overturned and Ivo returned to the presidency at a special World Congress in 2017, held in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. In December 2019 the Federation voted to withdraw from the INF, retaining the right to rejoin at some future date. The Federation today includes 17 affiliated clubs with a total membership, in 2012, of 1,600 people. Numbers at the annual rally have been dwindling in recent decades. In 2020 tensions arose between two Federation member groups, the Orchard Sun Club and Southern Free Beaches, when the latter installed advertising for their own club next to the entrance to the former's club grounds. The groups had previously split apart over differences in management style.

''gonatural'' magazine

The New Zealand Naturist Federation published a quarterly magazine from 1956 to 2020. It was launched by Stewart Ransom under the title ''The National Review'', which became ''The National Naturist Review'' in 1958, ''The New Zealand Naturist'' in 1961, and ''gonatural'' in 2005. ''gonatural''s content was largely devoted to lifestyle articles, along with news articles on events related to social nudity, and occasional opinion pieces. The ''National Naturist Review'' first printed photo illustrations in 1960, and the ''New Zealand Naturist'' began featuring a cover photo for each issue in 1963. The photos were retouched, to avoid legal repercussions, until after the 1968

Indecent Publications Tribunal The Indecent Publications Tribunal was a government censorship organisation that operated in New Zealand from 1964 until 1993. It was established under the Indecent Publications Act 1963 and consisted of five members, with one a High Court barris ...

finding that nude photos were not unlawful in New Zealand. From the 1990s until 2018, full nudity was kept off the covers so that the magazine could be sold by newsagents without a plain wrapper. In 2018, due to costs, ''gonatural'' was withdrawn from newsagents and became a subscriber-only magazine; however, it continued to make a loss for the Federation, and was discontinued in August 2020.

Social nudity in New Zealand culture

Early history

Thomas John Grant - War dance - Google Art Project

Māori people The Māori (, ) are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand (). Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages between roughly 1320 and 1350. Over several ce ...

prior to European colonisation wore woven cloaks and kilts for protection from the weather and to denote social status. However, very little of the human body had to be concealed for modesty's sake as such. According to reports by Captain

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

and

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...

upon their visit to New Zealand in 1769–70, Māori men frequently went casually naked except for a belt with a piece of string attached holding their

foreskin In male human anatomy, the foreskin, also known as the prepuce, is the double-layered fold of skin, mucosal and muscular tissue at the distal end of the human penis that covers the glans and the urinary meatus. The foreskin is attached to the g ...

shut over their

glans penis In male human anatomy, the glans penis, commonly referred to as the glans, is the bulbous structure at the distal end of the human penis that is the human male's most sensitive erogenous zone and their primary anatomical source of sexual p ...

, the only part that they showed any reluctance to uncover in social settings, whereas Māori women covered their entire pubic area with small aprons or bunches of fragrant plant material, and reacted with shame when caught uncovered in the presence of men. There was no shame or modesty attached to women's breasts, and therefore no garments devoted to concealing them – the colourful woven

bodice A bodice () is an article of clothing traditionally for women and girls, covering the torso from the neck to the waist. The term typically refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the 18th century, or to the ...

s () worn by women in performances are a colonial-era invention, which became standard costume only in the 1950s. Pre-pubescent children wore no clothes at all. The shock value of exposing the female genitals gave it power as a form of protest, a gesture known in

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

as . One notable modern example was performed by

Mihi Kōtukutuku Stirling Mihi Kōtukutuku Stirling (1870–1956) was a New Zealand Māori tribal leader and prominent landowner in the Raukokore district. She was a member of the Ngāti Porou and Te Whānau-ā-Apanui . Life Mihi Kōtukutuku was born in Pohaturoa, Bay of ...

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

in 1917.

Mita Taupopoki Mita Taupopoki ( – 14 January 1935) was a notable Māori tribal leader of New Zealand. He identified with Ngāti Wāhiao, a hapū (subtribe) of the Tūhourangi iwi of Te Arawa. He was born near Lake Rotorua, New Zealand, probably in 1845 ...

, a

Te Arawa Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori iwi and hapu (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the Arawa migration canoe (''waka'').racial inferiority (which in turn was seen as casting into doubt the validity of the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the M ...

Changing mores

Social nudity in remote outdoor locations began to draw the ire of the authorities in the late 1920s. A number of male offenders were arrested and convicted for "willfully and obscenely exposing their persons" at various

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

and

beaches through the 1930s; a typical fine was £1. In 1939, a young woman was convicted but granted a suspended sentence for swimming nude at

Takapuna Takapuna is a suburb located on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is situated at the beginning of a south-east-facing peninsula forming the northern side of the Waitematā Harbour. While very small in terms of population, it ...

in Auckland, after explaining to police that she was an adherent of the "Back to Health" movement. The presiding magistrate at her trial described her as "a disgrace to her sex" and speculated that only "an element of insanity" could explain her behaviour. By the 1980s, following the popularity of the Nambassa festivals (see below), casual outdoor nudity was a sufficiently recognisable feature of the social landscape that the cartoonist

Murray Ball Murray Hone Ball (26 January 1939 – 12 March 2017) was a New Zealand cartoonist who became known for his ''Stanley the Palaeolithic Hero'' (the longest running cartoon in ''Punch (magazine), Punch'' magazine), ''Bruce the Barbarian'', ''All t ...

(1939–2017) made one of the minor characters of his iconic New Zealand comic strip ''

Footrot Flats ''Footrot Flats'', a comic strip by New Zealand cartoonist Murray Ball, ran from 1976 to 1994 in newspapers (unpublished strips continued to appear in book form until 2000). Altogether there are 27 numbered books (collecting the newspaper strips, ...

'', Cousin Kathy, a frequent practitioner.

Present attitudes

A 2008 poll by Research New Zealand reported that 54% of New Zealanders supported the right of naturists to go nude on beaches at least in designated areas, with over half that number finding nudity acceptable on any beach. However, there remains a contingent of New Zealanders who consider nudity obscene. Naturists who engage in casual public nudity, even in places where this is lawful, run the risk of having the police called on them by disapproving members of the public. In 2019, a man was convicted of willful damage after chainsawing the

phallus A phallus is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic. Any object that symbolically—or, more precisel ...

off a

Māori carving Toi whakairo (art carving) or just whakairo (carving) is a Māori traditional art of carving in wood, stone or bone. History Timber was formed into houses, fencepoles, pouwhenua, containers, taiaha, tool handles and waka (boats). Carving tool ...

on a walking track at Woodville near

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

; he claimed that the statue "promoted sex for pleasure" and that he had support from

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

. When a small group of

Taupō Taupō (), sometimes written Taupo, is a town on the north-eastern shore of Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake, in the central North Island. It is the largest urban area of the Taupō District, and the second-largest urban area in the Wai ...

residents called for public signage banning

G-string A G-string is a type of thong, a narrow piece of fabric, leather, or satin that covers or holds the genitals, passes between the buttocks, and is attached to a waistband around the hips. A G-string can be worn both by men and by women. It may al ...

s at the local Spa Thermal Park in early 2020, the strength of opposition to their proposal made national news. In February 2016, complaints were laid with the Judicial Conduct Commission over photographs of a District Court judge playing

pétanque Pétanque (, ; oc, petanca, , also or ) is a sport that falls into the category of boules sports, along with raffa, bocce, boule lyonnaise, lawn bowls, and crown green bowling. In all of these sports, players or teams play their boules/balls ...

in the nude at Pineglades Naturist Club. Though the judge's name was never published, the case drew national attention, with negative commentary from former government minister

Rodney Hide Rodney Philip Hide (born 16 December 1956) is a former New Zealand politician of the ACT New Zealand party. Hide was a Member of Parliament for ACT from 1996 until 2011, was ACT's leader between 2004 and 2011, and represented the constituency f ...

and the

Sensible Sentencing Trust The Sensible Sentencing Trust is a political advocacy group based in Napier, New Zealand. The Trust's stated goal is "to educate both the public and victims of serious violent and/or sexual crime and homicide" It focuses on advocating for the ri ...

, and support from TV host and self-declared nudist Paul Henry. The Judicial Conduct Commissioner does not report on the outcomes of individual complaints made against judges, and no further action was made public with regard to the case. Social nudity in New Zealand has no specific political alignment; it is associated with

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

culture, with

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...

causes like

Free the Nipple Free the Nipple is a topfreedom campaign created in 2012 during pre-production of a 2014 Free the Nipple (film), film of the same name. The campaign highlights the general convention of allowing men to appear topless in public while considering ...

, and also with "politically incorrect" public figures such as Paul Henry and Marc Ellis.

National Nude Day

"National Nude Day" was a mock public holiday created when TV personality and former

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

player Marc Ellis challenged viewers of the TV2 talk show ''

SportsCafe ''SportsCafe'' was a New Zealand sports TV show. The show's original run was hosted by Lana Coc-Kroft, Marc Ellis, Leigh Hart, Graeme Hill, Ric Salizzo and reporter Eva Evguenieva. In 2001 Leigh Hart was added to the cast under his persona ...

'' to streak in front of then Prime Minister

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

. The show ran an event each year inviting viewers to submit photos and video of themselves performing daily activities in the nude, which was continued on the internet (rebranded as "World Nude Day" or "International Nude Day") until around 2009. A number of student

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s in Ellis' home town of Dunedin offered special deals for nude patrons on the day. Internet collections of world holidays mark the day as 14 July; in fact it was held at the organisers' whim, having variously fallen on 19 September and 6 February.

Student traditions

Since 2006,

veterinary science Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

students at

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

have marked the midpoint of their five-year course by posing for a

nude calendar Nude calendars are a type of wall calendar A calendar is used to display dates and related information, usually in a table format. Calendars are used to plan future events and keep track of appointments, and so a typical calendar will include ...

, titled the Barely There Calendar, to raise money for a class trip and a selected charity. Charities supported have included Retired Working Dogs NZ, Pet Refuge, and the animal hospital at

Wellington Zoo Wellington Zoo is a zoo in the green belt of Wellington, New Zealand. History Wellington Zoo was opened in 1906 by the late Prime Minister Richard Seddon after he was given a young lion – later named King Dick – by the Bostock and Wombwe ...

. Second-year law students at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

attend an annual summer camp organised by the Society of Otago University Law Students (SOULS), which, by 2017, featured a regular talent show including male

striptease A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper" or an "ex ...

. In 2018, the University withdrew support for the camp after an investigation reported nudity and "drunken and sexualised" behaviour, with the result that it was cancelled. The investigation found no evidence of sexual misconduct or criminal activity. In order to avoid cancellation the following year, SOULS implemented changes to the camp including banning nudity and holding the camp in a secret location away from media scrutiny.

Nudity in sport

test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...

match between New Zealand and Australia in Auckland on 22 March 1974 saw the first streaker in that sport, described by witnesses as a dark-haired young man. Another streak took place on the following day of the same match; whether by the same person or another cannot be verified, as neither was ever caught or identified. A nude rugby match was held in Dunedin each winter from 2002 to 2014 as pre-match entertainment for the first professional rugby game of the season. In more recent years it has become sporadic as organisers have other demands on their time. When

A J Hackett Allan John "A. J." Hackett (born May 1958) is a New Zealand entrepreneur who popularised the extreme sport of bungy jumping. He made a bungy jump from the Eiffel Tower in 1987 and founded the first commercial bungy site in 1988. He is also the ...

opened the world's first commercial

bungy jumping Bungee jumping (), also spelled bungy jumping, is an activity that involves a person jumping from a great height while connected to a large elastic cord. The launching pad is usually erected on a tall structure such as a building or crane, a ...

site at Kawarau Bridge near Queenstown, customers who performed the jump in the nude were granted free entry. This offer was later withdrawn because too many jumpers were taking advantage of it, but the site remains clothing-optional.

Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...

famously bungy-jumped nude from the bridge during his 2004 World Tour of New Zealand. Nambassa festival 1978

Festivals

The music festival

Nambassa Nambassa was a series of hippie-conceived festivals held between 1976 and 1981 on large farms around Waihi and Waikino in New Zealand. They were music, arts and alternatives festivals that focused on peace, love, and an environmentally friendly ...

, held from 1976 to 1981 near

Waihi Waihi is a town in Hauraki District in the North Island of New Zealand, especially notable for its history as a gold mine town. The town is at the foot of the Coromandel Peninsula, close to the western end of the Bay of Plenty. The nearby res ...

in the

Hauraki District Hauraki District is a territorial authority within the Hauraki region of New Zealand. The seat of the council is at Paeroa. The area covered by the district extends from the southwest coast of the Firth of Thames southeast towards Te Aroha, alt ...

, at its 1979 peak attracted an audience of 75,000, of whom an estimated 35% chose to attend partially or completely nude. The event began a tradition of nudity at New Zealand summer festivals which continues today at Convergence,

Kiwiburn Kiwiburn is a regional Burning Man event celebrating principles such as inclusion, radical self-expression, gifting, participative art and culture. History In 1994, Mark ‘Yonderman’ Stirling and his partner Jane discovereBurning Manby accide ...

, Luminate,

Rhythm & Vines Rhythm and Vines (commonly known as R&V, RnV or Rhythm) is an annual music festival held at Waiohika Estate vineyard, northwest of Gisborne, New Zealand. The festival began in 2003 and was held for the one day of New Year's Eve until 2008 wh ...

Splore Splore is an annual boutique music and arts three day festival held at Tapapakanga Regional Park, in Orere Point, New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two ma ...

, and elsewhere. Nudity at Rhythm & Vines made international news in 2018 with a

viral video A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander Haupt ...

capturing an incident in which a male festival-goer groped a topless woman who retaliated by striking him in the face.

Boobs on Bikes

Boobs on Bikes Boobs on Bikes is a mostly annual parade of Toplessness, topless men and women riding on motorcycles through large New Zealand cities (in the past, Christchurch, Palmerston North, Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, Wanganui an ...

was a mostly annual parade of topless men and women riding on motorcycles through large New Zealand cities in the 2000s, most prominently Auckland. One main aim of the parade was to draw attention to the fact that

toplessness Toplessness refers to the state in which a woman's breasts, including her areolas and nipples, are exposed, especially in a public place or in a visual medium. The male equivalent is barechestedness, also commonly called shirtlessness. Expose ...

is legal in New Zealand, so that women have the same right to go bare-chested as men; this aligns both with the general philosophy of naturism and with

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

causes such as Free the Nipple. The other, however, was to publicise the Erotica Lifestyles Expo, which is erotic in character and thus not strictly in keeping with the naturist principle of ''non-sexual'' social nudity.

International nude events

New Zealand naturists participate in international nude events including the

World Naked Bike Ride The World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) is an international clothing-optional bike ride in which participants plan, meet and ride together ''en masse'' on human-powered transport (the vast majority on bicycles, but some on skateboards and inline skates) ...

World Naked Gardening Day World Naked Gardening Day (WNGD) is an annual international event generally celebrated on the first Saturday of May by gardeners and non-gardeners alike. Organization WNGD was founded and organized by Mark Storey (consulting editor for Nude ...

, and the International Day Without Swimsuits (known in New Zealand as the "International Day Without Togs"). Since World Naked Gardening Day is held in May, which in New Zealand is a cold month, the New Zealand Naturist Federation has instituted a National Nude Gardening Day in October. In 2021, Nude Gardening Day was incorporated into National Gardening Week, which is sponsored in large part by Yates.

Beaches

New Zealand has no official nude beaches, as nudity is legal on any beach where it is "known to occur" (see below). The naturist organisations Free Beaches NZ Inc. and Nude Beaches New Zealand maintain lists of such places.

Legality

The Police Offences Act 1908 prescribed imprisonment with hard labour for anyone who "willfully and obscenely exposes his person in any public place or within the view thereof". Male offenders could, at the court's discretion, also be sentenced to be whipped. This was replaced in 1981 by the Summary Offences Act, in which the hard labour and whipping were abolished, and the specification of the offence in question was changed to "in or within view of any public place, intentionally and obscenely exposes any part of his or her genitals". The new wording implies that it is possible to expose one's genitals in a public place without it being "obscene" (since otherwise the word "obscenely" would not have needed to be specified); it also excludes exposure of the buttocks or female breast from the offence. The Indecent Exposure provision is now in practice largely reserved for cases of public sexual gratification. Public nudity may be prosecuted under the Offensive Behaviour provision of the Act, which prescribes a fine for anyone who "behaves in an offensive or disorderly manner". In 1991 an Auckland man was convicted of offensive behaviour in the District Court for sunbathing nude on the beach at Fitzpatrick Bay in the presence of a group of visiting schoolchildren. On appeal to the High Court his conviction was quashed, on the grounds that, since Fitzpatrick Bay was "a place where it was not uncommon for persons to sunbathe in the nude", a reasonable person would "regard the conduct... as inappropriate, unnecessary, and in bad taste, but not arousing feelings of anger, disgust, or outrage." In 1995, the same man was convicted of offensive behaviour for going nude in a public street; this time the High Court upheld the conviction, since the street was not a place where public nudity was common or known to occur. New Zealand is a

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

country, which means that judicial decisions determine the law that subsequent cases must follow.

References

* * * * * * *

External links

New Zealand Naturist Federation''gonatural'' MagazineFree Beaches NZ Inc.
{{Naturism by country Naturist resorts New Zealand culture Nude beaches