In Australia and New Zealand, barefoot is a way of life

The Australian letter is a weekly newsletter from our Australian bureau. To register to receive it by email. This week's issue is written by Natasha Frost, a Melbourne-based reporter.

I had just moved to New Zealand at the age of 12, when a new friend suggested we go to the corner shop (dairy in New Zealand English) for some sweets (lollies).

It wasn't a warm day – in July or August Auckland hovers around 50 degrees Fahrenheit – but when I stopped to put on my shoes, she looked at me in bewilderment. Why would I need shoes for a fast road trip?

New Zealanders – and their Australian cousins ​​– like to go barefoot. They often avoid shoes when they go to the gas station, the supermarket, the playground and even the pub.

Seth Kugel, a writer for The New York Times who visited New Zealand in 2012, put it like this: “People walk around barefoot. On the street. In supermarkets. Everywhere. It's not everyone, but it's a large enough minority to be quite noticeable and a little disturbing. Sure, the city sidewalks are clean. But they are still city prides.”

(He was also surprised by the lack of tipping culture, the fine distinction between a flat white and a latte, and the predominance of te reo Maori, the country's indigenous language.)

In Perth, Western Australia, at least one primary school has this a 'shoes optional' policy, with administrators claiming that barefoot running “helped children improve their posture, develop sensory awareness, and strengthen their feet and bodies.” (Podiatrists are less convinced.)

And it's not just the kids. In 2019, the Australian cricket team made headlines in England when they walked barefoot on the field in an attempt to capture “positive energy that comes from the earth.”

“It was fun,” said batsman Peter Handscomb told The Times of London. “You feel the grass on your feet, a bit of grounding.”

There is no apparent reason why it is so common to go barefoot. Some have attributed it to the influence of the two nations' indigenous cultures. Others see it as evidence of a more informal, literally more down-to-earth culture.

Speaking to the BBC in 2021David Rowe, professor emeritus of cultural research at Western Sydney University, offered a different explanation: Going shoeless was a chance for migrants from cold Northern Europe to celebrate an easier life in a warmer climate.

“A culture developed where you took off your shoes as a sign that you had left the Northern Hemisphere,” he said. “This is a new country, a sun-loving, happy place. You can take off your shoes and embrace the country.”

Before moving to Australia, Jordana Gray, who makes TikTok videos about life as a British expat on the Sunshine Coast, would never have gone barefoot and even believed it was illegal to drive without shoes.

“But now I love it,” she said. “I like to ride with my gorilla toes holding the pedals. It feels so liberating to walk barefoot, and my feet are so much healthier.” (If you're going to try it at home, she suggests doing the “toe test” before getting out of the car and onto the hot asphalt.)

In a recent TikTok videoGray described feeling a happy sense of “culture shock” when he discovered that many Australians simply leave their shoes at the beach entrance.

“And when you come back, they'll still be there!” she said, kicking off her white sandals.

In the comments, Australians weighed in on instances where their shoes had in fact not been there when they returned – Birkenstocks lifted by a ne'er-do-well, for example, or a cherished pair of glitter jelly shoes thrown away.

One commenter offered a solution: “They must be cheap Kmart shoes. Shoes you don't really care about. It is not a problem if they are stolen because it is completely acceptable to walk barefoot through the beach neighborhoods.”

At that point you might as well forget about the shoes.

Here are the stories of the week.

Do you enjoy our Australian agency shipping?
Tell us what's on your mind NYTAustralia@nytimes.com.

Do you like this email?
Forward it to your friends (they could use a fresh perspective, right?) and let them know they can sign up here.