Contrary to what most non-Australians seem to think, Sydneysiders do not spend the best part of every day stretched out on a beach. With the exception of the surfers and backpackers who overwhelm Bondi, most locals tend to see an ocean swim as a pleasure of which they never manage to get enough.
Friends visiting from other parts of the world are particularly taken with this aspect of Sydney, although it’s not without its apparent hazards. Indeed, visitors are frequently put off swimming because of having to leave bags and belongings unattended on the beach. Surely Bondi must be rife with petty theft?
On investigation it was learned that no one can remember their things being stolen from the beach, and only the most tourist-soaked spots have lockers.
At the start of the summer season, editors at Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph tabloid dispatched a reporter and a photographer with a long lens in an attempt to catch Sydney’s sneak thieves in the act. After a day of swimming (on the reporter’s part) and snooping (by the photographer), they returned to the office with not a cent missing. The story was spiked.
This is a shame. Every tabloid editor knows that crime sells, but for the average non-Aussie visitor the most interesting thing about Sydney’s beaches is not what’s stolen, but what’s not. Most out-of-towners grow up knowing that they must always mind their belongings in public places, but Australian beaches seem as safe as bank vaults.
Sergeant Christine George, the crime coordinator for Sydney’s beachside eastern suburbs, admits that even she happily takes an MP3 player, cellphone and wallet when she goes to the beach, with little concern that they might get stolen. The police do run patrols, but by all accounts the crime-free reputation is justified.
”On a week in the middle of summer the beach thefts would be no more than about 5% of those in [the suburbs] Bondi and Bronte. A lot of days there are none,” she says.
An eminently sensible officer, George puts this down to the visibility of thieves, the continuous presence of sunbathers, and the difficulty of doing a runner over soft sand.
But it is enticing to think there is something more to it than that. In a rare lyrical moment, John Pilger once described Bondi as an almost spiritual ”link with our ancient continent”.
”The beach is Australia’s true democracy,” he wrote. ”We have found our freedom by taking our clothes off and doing nothing of significance.”
If the beach really is Australia’s sacred space, then it is no wonder that your belongings are as safe there as if you had left them in a church. — Â