- Moms get angry over a common act on the beach
- READ MORE: This beach habit is dividing Australians
A frustrated mother-of-two has sparked a heated debate online after questioning whether it was “normal” for beachgoers to set up in front of other families.
For clarity, the Melbourne mom added a photo to the conversation showing a blue and white striped beach hut in front of hers.
The other cabin was almost at the water’s edge and had been “placed there after” his family had prepared for the day.
‘When did it become common to set up a tent on the beach in front of other bathers? “I go to the beach several times a year and this is the first time I’ve seen this,” the mother fumed.
He added that tents were “four deep” on the popular beach.
‘We got there at 9am and around 11am, someone came and settled between us and the water. “I was stunned and then realized that was the case right at the end of the beach,” she added.
But people were quick to “put her in line” and criticize her for wanting “unrestricted water views.”
‘If you were the only two people on the beach, I would understand this question, but like you said, the beach was full. “Expecting them to leave the space in front of you is just rude,” one woman said.
A mum has sparked a fierce debate online after sharing this photo from her local beach.
But other beachgoers said ‘a space is a space’ and she can’t expect people not to settle near her in the summer.
‘Beach space is scarce on an urban beach in summer. You can’t reserve the space or the view in front of you, only the space your things take up,’ said another.
Others were much more direct.
‘Excuse me, who do you think you are?’ a woman asked.
“I think they are trying to enjoy the outdoors and reduce the risk of melanoma,” said another.
A third said: ‘You’re serious! Do you think you’re entitled to uninterrupted views of the water because you got there first? My God.
Others revealed that they now park as close to the water as possible to avoid anyone getting between them and the water.
Some people admitted that they avoid the beach at peak times because they don’t like the cabanas, but they know they can’t do anything about it.
‘I grew up on the peninsula, I lived here for 38 years. It’s beautiful but I don’t bother going to the beach during the two weeks of Christmas and New Year’s. There is towel to towel down there,” said a woman.
‘We live in Noosa and the beaches are covered for the two weeks after Christmas. We just headed to the beaches without the crowds! (I know that’s hard in some areas)’ said another.
But some people took the mother’s side.
‘It’s strange having people so close or right in front of you. It happened to me and a friend the other day with a group of people sitting directly in front of us and the beach had plenty of space around it; I felt it might have been polite of him to settle a little further away to be next to us instead of directly in front of us.
“It was so awkward when the girl in front was leaning right in front of us putting sunscreen on her lower legs; we literally had to turn our heads,” added one mom.
“Yesterday I had people everywhere and they started smoking, very disgusting,” said another.
A third fumed: ‘I feel this in my bones. We go to a dog beach, it’s not crowded. We don’t have a cabin and we sit in a shaded area. We arrived around 7 in the morning.
We had a family come and put TWO cabins three feet from where we were sitting… It pissed me off.’
Others noted that the situation could have been much worse for the family.
“At least it’s the kind of store you can see through,” one woman said.