Backpackers flock to Coogee after Bronte crackdown
Thousands of backpackers and foreigners have flocked to a beach in Sydney’s east after attempts to curb a burgeoning Christmas Day tradition in Bronte moved the beach further south.
Crowds of tourists, away from their families but still eager to celebrate Christmas, flocked to Coogee Beach on Thursday after public outcry and ongoing construction at Bronte deterred revelers.
As the crowd partied with Hare Krishnas, dancing in circles or on shoulders and two DJs played at either end of the Coogee lawn, lifeguards warned against swimming while drinking.
British Katie McHugh, who is on a working holiday in Australia, said the party in Coogee went well.
“As long as people get together, it’s free land, people should do what they want,” he said.
Hector Hernandez, from Spain, has been in Australia for two-and-a-half years but was attending a Christmas beach party for the first time on Thursday.
“It’s fun, but it’s a complete mess,” Hernandez said.
“I went to the toilet and it was disgusting, there was no preparation… no one was prepared.”
A Randwick City Council spokesman said the council was working closely with police to prepare for a possible influx of people on Christmas Day.
More bins have been provided and additional cleaning and waste staff have been deployed to assist with any subsequent issues.
The council said it was also trying to remind potential participants that Randwick’s beaches and parks were alcohol-free zones, putting up posters and distributing information to nearby backpacker hostels.
“The no-alcohol rule allows police to impose sanctions when necessary,” the spokesman said.
“Whilst crowd numbers are large, feedback so far suggests most people are well-behaved and celebrating an Australian Christmas on the beach.”
Signs informed attendees that alcohol was prohibited and glass glasses were not allowed, while council guards with high visors wandered through the crowd.
The Coogee Beach festivities come after Randwick’s northern neighbor Waverley Council cracked down on celebrations at Bronte Beach following an “unacceptable” mess left behind last year.
Waverley this year spent more than $250,000 Increased policing and security, including checkpoints to confiscate alcohol, additional cleaning, buses and toilets, and crowd management.
“This is not an approved or managed council event and although we strongly discourage crowds from attending, we cannot ban people from the beach,” Waverley Mayor Will Nemesh said in a statement in early December.
“However, we are committed to mitigating impacts on the community as much as possible.”
A Randwick Council spokesman said some extra resources and clean-up crews were also sent from Bronte to Coogee.
Residents near Bronte have been criticizing the Christmas Day party for years; He complains about noise, litter, antisocial behavior and the park being used as a “public urinal”.
As long queues formed for the toilets at Coogee Beach on Thursday, some attendees were urinating in bottles or showers instead.
Jul Krasousky, a French national, said that he wanted to go to Bronte on Thursday, but “it was closed, there were too many police and they checked whether there was alcohol.”
“Summer is here, Christmas is here, we are on holiday,” he said.
“If we were in France we wouldn’t do this. But we don’t have family, we want to be with our friends and everyone is here.”
Police were also seen patrolling Coogee, with more officers arriving as the afternoon progressed.
A spokesman said NSW Police were aware of the incident and were at the scene but had not yet been called to respond to any specific incidents as of Thursday afternoon.
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Jack Gramenz is a breaking news reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
