Newcastle 2011
World Naked Bike Ride – Nudecastle 2011
Date: Saturday 12 March 2011
Time: 2 pm
Location: The little park on the South side of Hamilton Railway Station
Contents
Ride Report
World Naked Bike Ride in Newcastle broken up by Police
Sat 12 Mar 2011
8.9 km into a 12.6 km bike ride to protest for peace, sustainability and cyclists rights, Police broke up the 7th annual World Naked Bike Ride in Newcastle, NSW Australia.
The group of about 15 bike riders, some clothed and and others naked and decorated in body paint promoting their protest message rode along the Honeysuckle harbor side cycle way, down Hunter St (the main street of the city) and through the busy restaurant and cafe precinct of Darby St. The ride was cheered and applauded by members of the public.
Citing an alleged complaint from the public the Police stopped the ride in Bar Beach. A couple participating in the ride were stopped and questioned by Police who indicated further action may result. One gentleman was questioned and asked to get dressed.
Local World Naked Bike Ride Organiser, Marte Kinder, said: "The actions of the Police were extraordinary given that during the 8 year history of the event in Australia (in 4 states and the ACT) police had been tolerant and accepting and that the community saw it as good natured and innocent fun. After 5000 people stripped naked outside the Sydney Opera House on the 2nd of March 2010 to be photographed by the artist Spencer Tunick and the recent World Naked Bike Ride in Melbourne on Sunday the 6th of March where 150 people rode naked, I would expect the NSW Police would realise that non-sexual public nudity in the name of a good cause is both accepted by the public and legal. Although it is illegal to invade countries and conduct wars of aggression that kill millions to secure oil reserves in neo-colonial wars, criticising those crimes naked (and in the spirit of the Archibald Memorial Fountain) was considered a threat to society by NSW Police. If they could arrest the war criminals who are murdering mother earth with toxic pollution and green house gasses, we would have a better world."
The ride was photographed:
Photographs for the media email: Second Sight Photography
Website: http://www.secondsightphotography.com.au/
Telephone: 02 49 673939
More photographs here: WNBR_Newcastle_2011 © Second Sight Photography
The ride was filmed:
Broadcast quality motion pictures were shot by NBN Television in Newcastle
11-17 Mosbri Crescent,
Newcastle, 2300
(02) 4929 2933
Fax: (02) 49262936
Ride details
Newcastle will ride on Saturday the 12th March 2011. Assembly location is the little park on the South side of Hamilton Railway Station at 2 pm. You must arrived CLOTHED and stay clothed for the time being. We will not strip in the park. Organisers will lead participating riders to a secret private venue for stripping and body painting. Clothing is optional on the ride so you can wear as much or as little as you want. Go as BARE AS YOU DARE!
It is usual practice that visitors from out-of-town can be helped with the loan of a bike on the day. Body painting is optional (though strongly encouraged) so you can write slogans and protest messages that tell the public what the ride is about. Peace signs, hearts and flowers are always in theme. This year organisers are allowing plenty of time to do elaborate full body murals. If you do not participate in the body painting you will have to wait patiently for everyone else to complete their body painting. By the time the body painting is completed, then we hit the streets of Newcastle in all our decorated glory. The ride is fantastic fun. The public really enjoy the event and line the streets cheering. We ride as a group and try not to get straggly. The route we take is NOT PUBLICISED in advance. Organisers will lead the way along the route. There will be a party after the ride at a venue to be determined which will feature music and a selection of food and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
The official Southern Hemisphere World Naked Bike Ride date is Saturday the 12th of March 2011. Sydney will have a ride on Saturday the 19th of March 2011. Keen riders could attend Newcastle on the 12th of March and Sydney on the following weekend on the 19th of March.
Planning
If you would like to volunteer to help with publicity, media, party organisation or other roles that help make the ride a success, please come along to the Planning Meetings. Please come along with your ideas.
The Planning Meeting Dinners are organised from time to time and usually take place in a friendly pub.
You can also participate in planning decisions by joining the WNBR Newcastle Yahoo! Group. Less formal discussion and planning also happens at monthly Newcastle Critical Mass bike rides or as advised.
Ride location and how to get there
Assemble with clothes ON in the little park on the Southern side of Hamilton Railway Station. Please do not drive to the event because it will create greenhouse gases and contradicts the purpose of the event. Please ride your bike to the assembly place or take the train if it is too far for you to ride. CityRail allows passengers to take their bikes on the train.
CityRail Timetables
Hunter Line
- Newcastle to Hamilton (Enter the ride date 12-Mar-2011 (Sat) in the search box).
- Scone or Dungog and Maitland to Hamilton (Enter the ride date 12-Mar-2011 (Sat) in the search box).
Newcastle & Central Coast Line
- Central to Hamilton (Enter the ride date 12-Mar-2011 (Sat) in the search box).
- Newcastle to Hamilton (Enter the ride date 12-Mar-2011 (Sat) in the search box).
How to participate
Please read the following information first. This page is the most important source of information on WNBR Newcastle.
After this page you can follow the links in other sections of this page for reports of how the ride went in previous years and things that interest you and have a look at WNBR Australia (official site).
What to bring
- A bike in good working order. If you have a bike in need of repair or do not have a bike please visit the Newcastle Bike Ecology Centre .You can ride a scooter or skates if you want to because any form of human powered transport is OK.
- You MUST have an approved bike helmet. Riding without a helmet is ILLEGAL.
- You might consider bringing your bike lights, front and rear, in case you need them to get home after the post ride party which may go into the evening.
- Bring a bike lock.
- Bring your friends.
- You need to arrive clothed. Seriously, some people have not done this.
- You need decent shoes for cycling because you may hurt your feet otherwise.
- A pair of swimmers (just in case you need them on the ride). Your bike might break down.
- You need somewhere to put your clothes while you are riding. A backpack or bag where you can store your stuff. Secure storage will be provided so you can leave all but an emergency pair of swimmers at the body painting venue. Clothing is optional on the ride and you are perfectly welcome to ride clothed or naked or somewhere in between.
- Bring a bottle of water.
- Bring a noise maker like a whistle, a horn or a bell.
- Bring some money for the party to pay for your refreshments.
- A donation of $ money to help the organisers cover the expenses.
- A paint brush.
What not to bring
- Alcohol or drugs. Ride in control and safe. There will be alcohol available at the after party.
In months before the ride
It may seem like things are quiet between World Naked Bike Rides but the Newcastle organisers are working now to make the upcoming WNBR Nudecastle enjoyable for everyone. In the lead-up to the WNBR there are many other community grassroots events in Newcastle that are of interest to Naturists, Biketivists, Pacifists and Environmentalists. Some events are featured on this page below. Have a look at the links to organisations that endorse the WNBR in Newcastle (see Newcastle#Endorsement below) and Australia and you will find something that will inspire your passion for expressing yourself for the benefit of the planet. All the organisations that endorse WNBR are friendly though our closest ally is Critical Mass (see Newcastle#Critical_Mass below). WNBR Nudecastle encourages everyone interested in participating in WNBR to also participate in Critical Mass.
Get a bike
Do you need a bike? Are you broke? Newcastle Bike Ecology Centre has going bikes from $5 to $50 or you can fix an old bike for yourself for FREE! Volunteers & bike/part donations welcome. Open most Fridays and Saturdays 9am to 5pm, 106 Robert St Islington, phone 49616582.
Getting email updates before the ride
If you want to have emails sent to you with details of pre-ride events, reminders of the WNBR Nudecastle time and start location, or discuss any apects of the upcoming ride: you need to join the discussion group (see Newcastle#Discussion_group.2Fs below). If you have not got a Yahoo! account, you can set one up for free in about 5 minutes. You can use your existing email account or get a Yahoo! email account for free. You can set the email account up using a nickname if you want to as well. The management of Yahoo! have classified the discussion group as "adults only" but only because they are puritanical prudes who do not know the difference between the human body and pornography. WNBR is nothing to do with pornography so do not worry.
Privacy
You do not have to register, pay money, sign anything or give your personal details to anyone. There are suggestions on the international pages of WNBR websites that say you should complete the on-line registration process. This is NOT mandatory for the WNBR Nudecastle. Vetted media people will attend the WNBR Nudecastle 2010 to photograph and video the event so if you have any concerns about this you should consider painting your face, wearing a novel mask or big dark sunglasses to preserve your anonymity.
Legality
THE RIDE IS LEGAL! Non-sexual public nudity is legal in NSW. 5000 people stripped naked outside the Sydney Opera House on the 2nd of March 2010 to be photographed by the artist Spencer Tunick with no arrests. The ride is a totally NON-SEXUAL event and this is strongly enforced by the organisers. The laws that are relevant to public nudity in New South Wales are applicable througout the state. For discussion of this topic, please refer to the separate page about New South Wales Laws. No one has ever been arrested on a World Naked Bike Ride in Australia.
Women’s Support Woman
Christabel has volunteered for the role of Women’s Support Woman for WNBR Nudecastle. The Women’s Support Woman (WSW) role is to offer special support to women who have any concerns about their participation or potential participation in the event. The WSW will be attending the whole of the event and will be available to help all women participants. The WSW will be making a special effort to ensure that female participants feel comfortable while being a mentor. If you wish to assist in this role or would like to ask any relevant questions, please approach Christabel before the ride.
Media
Media enquiries for Newcastle: please contact Marte Kinder the WNBR Newcastle Organiser.
Please think ahead if you want to have a media presence on the day of the WNBR Nudecastle and contact Marte well ahead of time because your involvement will need vetting.
Media coverage
Publicity: flyers, posters, images etc
This is the current poster / flyer, to be used for the WNBR Newcastle 2011 to help promote participation. Please print these and stick them up where people will see them. Why not colour one in and stick it to your refrigerator?
Critical Mass
Critical Mass Newcastle and the World Naked Bike Ride endorse and participate in all events held under both names in Newcastle. Critical Mass ride on the first Friday of every month and starts from Civic Park, opposite Newcastle Town Hall. Assemble at 5:45pm for a 6:00pm start. Ride Daily! Celebrate Monthly!
For more information on Critical Mass see: Critical Mass World Information , Critical Mass Australiaor Newcastle Critical Mass Discussion Group or email Daniel on newcastlecriticalmass{at}yahoo.com.au
Newcastle Cycling Strategy and Action Plan
World Naked Bike Ride Newcastle supports and endorses the Newcastle Cycling Strategy and Action Plan motion submitted to Newcastle City Council for consideration on 17 February 2009 by Micheal Osborne of the Newcastle Greens.
Other Upcoming Events where WNBR Newcastle will participate
Bike Love Corral visits Newcastle University Bike Users' Group
The Bike Love Corral is a manifestation of bike fun presented by Newcastle volunteers from a variety of supporting bike activism groups.
Bike Love Corral visits Newcastle University Bike Users' Group.
The Bike Love Corral details are:
- Time: 10am to 4pm
- Date: Every Thursday During Semester
- Place: Outside the NUSA Building (on the grassy knoll or on the back verandah if it rains).
- Requirement: Current Newcastle University Bike Users' Group membership is required.
This is the current flyer / poster, to be used for the Bike Love Corral at NUSA to help promote participation. Please print these and stick them up where people will see them.
- Bike Love Corral on Facebook
- Newcastle Uni Bike Users Group:
- Newcastle University Students' Association (NUSA)
- NUSA Environment Collective
- Bike Love Corral webpage.
