FASHION POLICE

LOOKING BACK TO A TIME WHEN A SIMPLE SWIMSUIT WAS PUBLIC ENEMY NO. 1

- Kylie Walters

When it came to early women's rights, Australia was largely at the forefront. “It was one of the first countries in the world to grant non-Indigenous women the right to vote and stand for parliament,” Sharon Crozier-De Rosa, a professor in history at the University of Wollongong, tells WHO.

This makes it even more shocking that for decades, a war was waged across Sydney's beaches to police women's swimsuits. While a bikini is seen for many now as a summer staple, from the 1930s to the 1960s, beach inspectors patrolled the shores at Bondi to ensure women complied with modesty standards.

Waverley Council, which governs Bondi, had strict rules for swimsuits, including that they must have legs that were at least 7cms long, completely cover the front of the body from the armpits to the waist and have straps to hold them up for people over 12.