Dunnies Down Under

Television (Full Length) – 2001

Toilets prove to be a surprisingly great conduit for discussion in this documentary, leading to conversations about New Zealand's history, customs and infrastructure. Host Ginette McDonald (of Lynn of Tawa fame) witnesses everything from long drops and composting toilets, to holes in the floor and work of art thrones. The role of the toilet in the women's liberation movement is a fascinating segment, with McDonald hearing how access to public bathrooms affected women's shopping (and sex) habits. Dunnies Down Under also provides a great public service explaining what happens to aeroplane waste.

The idea of women going to the toilet in a department store was that no one would know as they walked into Smith & Caughey's doors what they were going to do ... they were assumed to be shopping or taking tea.
– Historian Dr Caroline Daley on a lack of public toilets for women in Auckland in the early 1900s