Cool Cabanas: How beach tent sparked turf war in Australia

For decades, a contentious invader has been slowly taking over Australia’s precious beaches.

A lake of huge beach tents, known as cabanas in Australia, swoops up the sand, obscuring ocean views, and turning the beach into a irritating maze.

” It’s chokkas. They’re all over the place,” Sydneysider Claire, 30, told the BBC.

Cooling off on a hot time means a long travel to the beach and an eternity of searching for a garden for her, as do most Australians. Today, the rattan trend means there’s another fight waiting for them on the seashore.

As far as the eye may see, nylon tone covers flap in the weather. Some are set up at dawn, set up, and left there until the masters actually want to use them.

” The sheer amount of space that people are taking up … [when ] you’re just trying to find a free square inch of sand to lay your towel, it can just be a little bit frustrating,” Claire says.

She’s not alone in her discomfort. In the first days of 2025, many summers of simmering strain have turned into a full-on ground war, causing debate about American culture and beach etiquette.

A controversy over the appropriate use of villas has dominated interpersonal media, produced a number of judgment parts and television parts, and actually dragged in the prime minister.

Self-described “haters” state entitled rattan crews are hogging open area and disrespecting other beachgoers.

On the TV talk show The Project, anti-cabana warrior and TikToker Nic Salerno said,” When you’re… polluting the shore with your four villas next to each other, where is Guncle Nic going to come?”

” I just want my place on the seashore, people. “

But the pro-cabana crowd say seeking shelter from Australia’s violent moon isn’t a offense- and it’s every person for themselves.

Australia is the world’s epicenter of cancer, and many backers, including the Cancer Council, argue that the latest craze should be celebrated.

In response to a TikTok talk, one person wrote,” My partner and I have a cool rattan because we both burn really easily and don’t want to die from skin cancer by 30 .”

The rattan critics argue that no one is discounting the importance of sunlight safety, but they claim that’s simply a convenient justification for many of the people using the seaside tents.

Half the time they’re never yet sitting under the shade covers, they claim, and there’s no need for two people to punch out an entire camp for an hour or two, when sun-cream and helmet will do just great.

Another rattan believers are more revealing about their intentions. Davina Smith, a breakfast television presenter, acknowledged that the key to her success lies in finding” the perfect piece of real estate” on active shores.

She is one of the persons who pitches their cabana castles in the morning to make room for her family after that time.

” There’s a lot of study that goes into this. You get up earlier, you’ve got to see the waves. You can’t really plonk it there and move away … you invest in it,” Smith argued on the Today program.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was among the legions irked by the pattern:” That’s not on,” he told the exact show.

” One of the great things about Australia, unlike some parts of the world, you go and you got to pay to go to the shore. Below, everyone owns the beach … And that’s a violation of that process, really. “

Even lifeguards have opinions on the matter, with some telling local media the cabana camps can make it hard for them to do their jobs.

A number of historical eccentricities contribute to Cabanagate making Australians more upbeat than a bird in the spring.

First of all, the nation enjoys using one of its most priceless national property, which it calls itself as an equitable society or as the land of a” good go.”

” Asian beaches, they generally have been seen as shared spaces, political spaces where social structures dissolve…. [they’re ] seen as a great equaliser,” says Ece Kaya, a researcher at the University of Technology Sydney.

And Australians are “fiercely” watchful of that perfect:” They see it as a heritage,” says Chris Pepin-Neff, who studies American beach lifestyle.

He cites the pushback from 1929 when sunbathers at Sydney’s Coogee Beach were required to pay for access to the only portion of the waters covered by fish nets. A more recent charge to give a prestigious shore club access to a portion of Bondi Beach was met with a significant outcry.

And while the usage of sprawling patios is a relatively new phenomenon, there’s much been “enormous group pressure” around the use of the country’s beach, Pepin-Neff adds.

While those who are lucky enough to live in those areas frequently use those natural assets, a lack of infrastructure, affordable housing, and community attitudes frequently prevent regular Australians from visiting waterfront areas.

” And there’s a perception that it’s encroaching even further, [so] that an average family can’t even get a spot at the beach. “

However, he claims that there isn’t any real information about who uses cabanas and why. He also contends that there are numerous legitimate justifications for their use. They may have traveled a long way, he says, or they may have young children or a disability that they need to look after.

There is a balance between having a free and open beach that everyone can use and being respectful. “

He offers no defence for the “land bankers” though:” As a Sydneysider, I think that is abusing the privilege … that is not a fair go. “

However, as the discussion gets heated, some people are calling for a truce to bring back the peace to Australian soil.

Rowan Clark, the owner of Beachkit Australia and a cabana enthusiast, claimed that he believes cabana lovers should be more polite.

They ought to only permit set up in a line at the back of the beach, he said. ” Once this is exhausted, then no more of this style of shade should be allowed. “

Some people want authorities to rein in it, as some have done in the United States. Councils may decide how many and where can be set up on their beaches.

However, for all her wrath, Sydney resident Claire is concerned that it might tip the scales in the opposite direction and prevent others from using the beach.

” You don’t want to get too precious about it, obviously … it’s just the beach, first world problems right?

” I think in general, we should just try to be considerate of one another. “