Australia at the Beach

By Doyice Cotten

Australia is a continent surrounded by water. With great weather and white beaches abounding, it is no wonder that the Aussies love the beach. Unfortunately more than 2/3 of the population eventually get skin cancer and each year nearly 2000 Aussies die of the disease.

The nation is now in the 5th year of the National Skin Cancer Awareness Campaign. The campaign is intended to education young Australians about the dangers of skin cancer and to encourage preventative behaviors. The five recommendations are given at http://www.skincancer.gov.au/ are

  1. Seek shade
  2. Wear sun protective clothing that covers as much of your body as possible
  3. Put on a broad-brimmed hat that shades your face, neck and ears
  4. Wear wrap-around sunglasses
  5. Apply SPF30+ broad spectrum water resistant sunscreen every two hours.

Some of the results are shown in the photos below. Note in Photos 2, 3, and 4 that the kids are well protected from the sun. From what I saw, this is common practice.  Photo 5 shows that many adults, as well as kids, are taking precautions and Photo 6 shows two adults who have really taken the warning to heart.

However, while the awareness campaign was aimed primarily at teenagers, success seems to be limited in this age group (see Photos 6, 7, and 8).

Of course beaches usually have other types of recreation occurring. Kids on scooters (Photo 9), people on camel rides (Photo 10), and trampoline play (Photo 11) are also seen. Note the safety measures taken for the trampoline. Neither the trampoline nor the camel ride required liability waivers. And Photo 12 reminds us that one must always look out for sharks when at the beach.