Australian Dunny Art

In a brief opening hole thru Covid-19 waves 2 & 3 in NSW, we drove over 12,000 ks from Wollongong to Adelaide, then dead north up thru the Red Centre- Coober Pedy to Alice Springs, Darwin & later south-east thru Mount Isa, Winton, Bourke, Yass & eventually back to NSW in lockdown, presently in its 15th goddamn but essential week. 

The iconic painted silos in regional Australia have been well documented online but what I found as interesting were the painstakingly care and thought behind the art on many of the dunnies (Oz for toilets) that we had to frequent along the way. Our many thanks to the councils,voluntary groups & private establishments which have funded & maintained these amenities blocks for passing tourists. Here is some of the best shit that we discovered in 2021: 

#10 Adelaide River 

Driving from Alice Springs to Darwin it is essential that you stop for an hour or two at Adelaide River to contemplate the amazing and beautifully maintained World War 2 memorial. It was an important Allied airforce base during World War 2 and was used to bury the hundreds of Australians killed in the bombing of Darwin in 1941 and in the subsequent campaigns. It is perhaps the best war memorial in Australia, apart from Canberra's War Memorial: https://www.dva.gov.au/sites/default/files/p00143_oawg_adelaide_river_brochure.pdf

The public toilets  about 2 km south on the main road are not as flash, but reliable:

#9 Curtain Springs Station

Curtain Springs Station is a working cattle station about 85 kilometres from Ayres Rock Resort near Uluru. Its public toilet features a Shakespearean Romeo & Juliet minimalistic theme:

#8 Winton

Winton is in north/ central Queensland & situated between the outback towns of Cloncurry & Longreach. At the North Gregory Hotel we listened to a speaker for a short time explaining the context of how Banjo Patterson came to write his morbid bush ballad 'Waltzing Matilda' and recite it there for the first time in public in 1895: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqtttbbYfSM

I was impressed by the icons to represent the Men's & Women's public toilets just up the road: 

#7 Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park

At Uluru before we hired a couple of over-priced bicycles to ride around the monolith. Beforehand, we ducked into the Cultural Centre's toilet:

The Rock is certainly the best and most important place you can visit in Australia. Amazingly, it wasn't until October 2019 that you were not permitted to climb this ancient sacred Aboriginal site. 

#6 Port Noarlunga

Port Noarlunga is probably the most spectacular of Adelaide's southern beaches.  

It was overcast during our day there. Had a quick wizz here: 

#5 Daly Waters 

The place is a hyped-up privately owned town with over-priced & sub-standard accommodation but some Aussie deros will argue it is a must stop. The cover band plays a comforting mix of 80s & 90s Aussie rock anthems: Chisel, the Oils, Australian Crawl, Paul Kelly, Mondo Rock etc. The main bar features a breastdoom of bras donated by passing tourists.

In the Gent's, I heard a bloke say to his mate about the beer keg cut in two he was urinating into, " I don't much like the beer recycling system they have in place here. I might stick to wine."

#4 Charleville

The town is situated about 700 km west of Brisbane on the Mitchell Highway. Like many outback towns, the locals tragically sent many young men to their deaths during World War 1. Their sacrifices including a recent addition to this Wills Street monument precinct adds colour and decorum to the special place.     

#3 Mataranka Springs

The public springs are within Elsey National Park in the Northern Territory and it is only a short stroll  to reach the springs through a forest of pandanas palms. The temperature of the springs is a constantl 34 degrees celsius. Beforehand, you will find this public toilet to change: 

#2 Augathella is a small town about 85 km north of Charleville in outback Queensland. It is a town of 400 people but saw only 2 that day we found their beautifully welcoming toilet.

#1 Bark Hut Inn 

Perhaps  I like best the sassy wilfulness as we entered the toilets at Bark Hut Inn on the Arnhem Highway just outside the entrance to Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory. 

Seen better shit, kindy let me know.