OZschwitz slave pen: Alcohol strictly prohibited on Bondi Beach; Bags searched

IT WAS a Christmas tradition, weakened by a booze ban, and snubbed out by an overcast morning.

On Bondi Beach, a Waverley Council sign showed a stick figure with a martini glass and a Santa hat. He was being drowned, then arrested. "Alcohol strictly prohibited on Bondi Beach on Christmas Day," it read.

Attendance was down to about 10,000 on the beach yesterday. There were big men in small swimmers, backpackers boiled an angry red with sunburn.

In a good year, before the 2004 alcohol ban, the beach would take closer to 50,000 on Christmas Day.

"When they stopped the alcohol on the beach, so did the crowds, said Kris Yates, a lifeguard in the beach's tower. "In my opinion, if the public could drink, the beach would be packed. [But] it's a good idea. There's a lot more work when there's drink on the beach."

Road signs spread the message from the top of Bondi Road: alcohol was prohibited as far back as Blair Street.

"I was expecting more people," said Alessandro Bentivedo, one of many on the beach spending their first Christmas far away from home. "This rule about alcohol, for me it's strange. In Italy you can smoke, you can drink. I don't like it but I respect this rule."

Most people did respect the rule - or at least abided by it. Private security checked bags before their owners reached the sand. Only a handful of swimmers needed to be pulled from the long flat surf.

"I was expecting only to find a spot of sand to lay on," said Chris Hall, a British backpacker in his second week in Sydney. "It's busy, but there's quite a bit of space isn't there?"

LNK

OZschwitz slave pen: Alcohol strictly prohibited on Bondi Beach; Bags searched

OZschwitz slave pen: Alcohol strictly prohibited on Bondi Beach; Bags searched

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