Locals Sick Of Annual Bronte Beach Christmas Party

An annual Christmas party on Bronte Beach might see some changes come December, with locals at a recent council meeting demanding to “get rid of it”.

Thousands of people celebrate “Orphan Christmas” at the beach, with the event especially popular with backpackers away from their family for the holiday season.

Previous years have seen displays of anti-social behaviour, intense crowds, and extensive piles of rubbish left by revellers by the following morning.

Last year, there was a 20% increase in visitors compared to 2023, with Waverley Councillor Joshua Spicer promising locals that the council would implement measures to prevent any more “disgusting” scenes. This included extra rangers, security, police, dedicated cleaning crews, more bins and waste trucks, extended lifeguard patrols, and specific crowd control measures for Bronte Park, such as pathways and temporary toilets.

It appears the council are attempting to tone down proceedings as much as possible for this year, and hosted a public forum on May 5 intended to gather community feedback on how to best manage the event.

Waverly council suggested four levels of intervention, which included the banning of alcohol, a fence stretching at least one kilometre, and introducing paid ticketing.

However locals want the council to stop endorsing the event altogether.

Chair of the association Bronte Precinct, Alma Douglas asked why the event even existed in the first place.

“We can get rid of it. Why do we have to have it? Why are we accepting that it has to be here?” she said.

“There’s broken glass outside my home, vomit on my driveway, people making out outside my house, my neighbour got parked in for six hours, it’s just mayhem,” another resident said.

Waverly Mayor Will Nemesh agreed that the event was “unstable” in its current form.

“Council will look at enhancing increased communication and get the message out there that what has occurred is not sustainable and we will not accept that,” he said.

Financial and social cost to locals

Locals have been expressing their frustration with the party over the last few years, with the event making headlines in 2023 when the beach and surrounding parks were left strewn with rubbish.

Waverley Council staff stayed late on Christmas Day to clean up the mess, with local residents joining in the next day.

The council spent $60,000 managing visitors on Christmas Day 2024, and an additional $75,000 on policing throughout the summer.

This year, the council is formally requesting support in funding from the NSW government, saying it’s unfair for local ratepayers to be fronting the bill.

“Waverley Council collects significant revenue from beaches in its local government area including millions each year in parking revenue,” a state government spokesperson told the Daily Telegraph.

“Every council in NSW manages the maintenance of its beaches including events, and Waverley Council should be no different.”