Sea bathing, sun bathing & skin cancer

Sea bathing was considered a healthy, pleasurable and desirable practice in the nineteenth century, provided it could be accomplished in a safe and respectable manner.

Sunbathing in public on the surf beaches or in the public spaces of public baths was banned or discouraged for many years. Pool patrons could, however, sunbake in the dressing rooms of Coogee's Giles Baths and Wylies Baths.

In the 1920s, tanned skin became fashionable. As beachgoers exposed more skin to the sun, development of sunscreens allowed tanning with reduced risk of sunburn. Skin cancer was soon to become more of a concern than sunburn.

By the late twentieth century, Australia had the highest incidence of skin cancer of any country in the world. This fact, along with environmental concerns about damage to the ozone layer and increased risk from UV radiation, aided public acceptance of cancer prevention messages.

To promote 'SunSmart ' behaviour, the memorable  and highly successful Slip! Slop! Slap! community education campaign was launched in Australia in 1981 with print and TV advertisements featuring Sid Seagull in board shorts, t-shirt and hat and then relaunched 21 years later.  A Sid Seagull poster can still be seen at the amenity block near the Mahon pool at Maroubra in Sydney's east.

Adolescents and young adults were the slowest to adopt SunSmart behaviour. At the NSW beaches and ocean baths, young children again appeared dressed in neck-to-knee costumes, while older bathers simply made far greater use of sunblock. Surfers wear rash vests when not dressed in wetsuits, but winter swimmers continue to scorn wetsuits.

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