Brisbane 2008

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Home > List of rides > Australia > Brisbane, QLD > Brisbane 2008 •  Google Brisbane 2008 WNBR

Brisbane 2008

Date: Saturday 8 March 2008
Time: 3.15pm
Location: North Wynnum Esplanade, Elanora Park, Wynnum.

Ride Report

The 2008 ride was the second time Brisbane had participated in the ride. Unlike 2007, this year was a more sombre and subdued event with an even stricter police presence than last year. Dario assembled the film maker, photographers and body painters at the cul-de-sac in Crown Street at 2.45 before two friends had alerted him to six police cars already being assembled in the park.

The ride did not start until 4:20 pm in which five men and one woman rode. The police threatened all the riders with arrest if they went nude, including the woman going topfree. In the end, the riders backed down and took to the track wearing their shorts and sandals with various slogans more pertinent to naturism than oil dependency painted on them. One girl in her late teens tried to join the ride 10 minutes after take off and removed her top but was shouted down by the police, and eventually left the site 15 minutes later. Dario chose not to ride as a protest against the small turnout and the lack of female participants.

Dario did some brief filming of the participants, including film maker Charles McFarland and assistant Eleanor Embury.

There was no after ride party as the local pubs were reluctant to hire out a private bar for dress optional functions (unlike the Regatta last year).

The World Naked Bike Ride has received quite a lot of negative remarks with traditional nudists and naturists in Brisbane regarding the 'shock' value of public nudity to draw attention to political and environmental causes. With the exception of Free Beaches Australia and several festivals where nudity is allowed or at least tolerated, the Brisbane WNBR will no longer be reaching out to anyone who is involved with the nudist community.

Dario is planning to host an alternative bike ride in the future which will only be promoted via word of mouth to college and university students, social activists, feminists, and underground media like Brisbane Times and The Independent including 4ZZZ radio and The Australian Naturist magazine. The venue will only be revealed to those who fully confirm their presence there on the day via email or SMS.

This will largely protest against the burning of fossil fuels, the current public nudity laws in Queensland and the legal right for girls and woman to go topfree in the same social environments and contexts that guys are outside of beaches.

The event will only go ahead if at least 100 riders will confirm they will be there on the day.

Media enquiries

Please refer to the Australia page for a list of media contacts.

Publicity: flyers, posters, images etc

These are the flyer, poster and BIG POSTER used for the WNBR Brisbane 2008 to help promote participation. Please print these, pass them out and stick them up where people will see them. Why not colour one in and stick it to your refrigerator?

Flyer


Earlier superceded 2008 flyer, poster and BIG POSTER

Photos

WNBR Brisbane 8 March 2008


Media coverage

  • None

Endorsement

The following organisations support and/or endorse the WNBR in Brisbane: