Also near Island Bay I spotted an abandoned gents toilet, disappearing under a sand dune. Public toilets in NZ are surely the best in the world (any other contenders out there?). They are normally clean, free and unvandalised. Interesting to see that they had bitten the bullet and abandoned this one. There is probably a large, new, luxurious one with showers and changing facilities, just around the corner.
I have a suspicion that the public toilet thing has its roots in the social welfare aims of the Plunket Society. The PS was started by Truby King in 1907 and it still exists today as a large charity aimed at improving child health.
In small towns you find these loos which were built originally as the Women’s Rest and funded by the PS. So I’m guessing that the women needed to “rest” not just to have a pee (modestly) but to breastfeed. And the Plunket nurse would have an office there. You can still see a classic example of this in the tiny town of Hunterville. Dear little building. Beautiful newly refurbished loos inside. And the Plunket nurse’s office where she still runs a baby clinic (similar to a Health Visitor’s clinic) several times a week. (This is, incidentally) the best pit stop spot between Wellington and Taupo – and you can buy a smoothie across the road.) So my current theory is that the lavish (oh a pun!) provision of loos had it’s roots in this interesting movement.
In small towns you find these loos which were built originally as the Women’s Rest and funded by the PS. So I’m guessing that the women needed to “rest” not just to have a pee (modestly) but to breastfeed. And the Plunket nurse would have an office there. You can still see a classic example of this in the tiny town of Hunterville. Dear little building. Beautiful newly refurbished loos inside. And the Plunket nurse’s office where she still runs a baby clinic (similar to a Health Visitor’s clinic) several times a week. (This is, incidentally) the best pit stop spot between Wellington and Taupo – and you can buy a smoothie across the road.) So my current theory is that the lavish (oh a pun!) provision of loos had it’s roots in this interesting movement.
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