Humans came from the sea – somehow – and I still feel a tangible sense of union with nature unlike any other outdoor experience when I dive in.

It’s been a constant in my life, hence I have lots of favourite beaches. Some, like Freshwater, Bilgola, Soldiers Beach, are associated with childhood and the sensory overload of salt in the air, kelpy water, sunscreen (of a sort), wet towels and family.

Here, nesting under a multicoloured beach umbrella wobbly in the wind, like a brood of chicks just out of the nest, we could take a collective deep breath after a year that felt like it would never end, squinting out at the rolling surf and the passing parade.

Next up came rites-of-passage beaches while chasing waves with brothers and mates.

Peter Garrett says the beach is agnostic and equitable. All shapes and sizes, backgrounds and beliefs can gather.Credit: Kane Hibberd

Bodysurfing Queenscliff a long way out with the bombora going off, the large swell a surprise gift from a distant cyclone.

Cramming into an ancient station wagon, charging up the Mid North Coast to Blueys, where dusk has fallen but you’re still hanging on for that last perfect wave as the Seal Rocks lighthouse starts up, its beam tracing a comforting parabola across a deep, darkening sea.

Looking back, these elemental experiences were grounded in the rhythms of nature. Time was suspended and the sometimes uncomfortable world held at bay.

The beach is agnostic and equitable. All shapes and sizes, backgrounds and beliefs can gather. And yes, wearing any kind of swimming attire, up-lit by the blazing summer sun; a sanctuary from the constant din of digital sales spiels.

When you’re distracted only by the swirls of sand at the water’s edge, or the anticipation of the thrills to come – with parents, friends, instant neighbours close by – it’s pure bliss.

The beach is called “the church of the open sky” for a reason. In an age of autocrats, with climate chaos tugging at your sleeve and where-will-it-end AI incursion, beaches provide sweet relief, open all hours to anyone who shows up.

Other than paying for your parking space, expenses are negligible, and the all-day care provided by volunteer lifesavers is surely one of our best social undertakings.

Rob Hirst and Peter Garrett at a Midnight Oil show in the early 1980s.Credit:

Journeying up and down and across the continent, I’ve seen the greatest assemblage of beaches and bays, inlets, lagoons, lakes and headlands – many relatively unspoiled, courtesy of First Peoples stewardship – anywhere in the world.