Not many tourists or visitors to the national capital are aware that you can strip off and enjoy the water and sunshine in the proximity to Kambah Pool. Locals are well aware and it can make for interesting conversation.
On this day in 1976, The Canberra Times reported on the new legal approval for nudist clubs to enjoy nature in their natural state.
About 50 members of the ACT Nudist Club Inc and the Brindabella Sun Club were in full uniform, wearing nothing at all, to celebrate the first Sunday of legal nude bathing in public in the ACT.
The men, women and children gathered at the designated area, about one kilometre from the Kambah pool, which was declared on Friday, November 19, 1976, the only place in the ACT where nude bathing in public is legal.
The weather was cold, many of the bare white bodies indicated the lack of sunshine in Canberra in the recent weeks but a number of nude bathers took to the water unperturbed. Getting to the area had required endurance and rock climbing skills.
The president of the Brindabella Sun Club, which had a membership of about 40, Mr Ketih Wood, said the thought of "peeping toms" was not an embarrassment.
"If they are happy to sit up on the side of the hill fully-clothed watching us soak up the sun, that's their business," he said.
Two signs announce the presence of nude people, about 50 metres from the area. The wording of the signage irritated some nudists which said, "Nude persons may be encountered beyond this point". One man said it reminded him of signs in a zoo.
