Kleber Claux

Who was Kleber Claux?

Kleber Claux was a leading anarchist of the early twentieth century and a founder of the first nudist colony in Australia.

Born in Mogneville, Oise, France, Claux became a furniture maker prior to World War I, to which he was a Conscientious objector. During the war, Claux escaped France and its conscription laws by moving to England on a false passport and living at Whiteway Colony, a Tolstoyan-communist anarchist project in the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire.

At Whiteway Claux gained an interest in nudity, sensible clothes and vegetarianism and met Molly, who would become his life partner. They travelled to London in 1926 when she was heavily influenced by the gymnosophists. In 1929 they moved to Australia to help found an anarchist community near Cooktown in northern Queensland.

The family stayed at the commune until 1931 when they moved to Sydney, where Claux ran a fruit and vegetable stall in Liverpool Street. The Claux's soon became notorious in Sydney for their uninhibited ways, with Claux founding the first nudist colony in Australia and his family all following the naturalist lifestyle.

Claux had a huge beard and wore shorts and sandals, even in winter, which made him a recognisable figure in Sydney, and led to him being cast in numerous films, including Eureka Stockade and Kangaroo.