Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Local Focus: Hot Water Beach toilets named best with a Keep New Zealand Beautiful Award

Hunter Calder
By Hunter Calder
Videojournalist Waikato, NZH Local Focus·NZ Herald·
6 Nov, 2018 12:00 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Hot Water Beach toilet wins NZ Beautiful Award. Made with funding from NZ on Air

Hot Water Beach's new toilets have been named the best public loo in the country.

Thames-Coromandel District Mayor Sandra Goudie said the amenity was a sitter for the Keep New Zealand Beautiful Award.

"We have the wonderful undulating exterior which has a real connection to the environment in which it sits in relation to the sea," she said.

"Surfers and swimmers love its timber wave design reflecting the beach, its new changing room with a hot shower and increased number of toilets."

Hot Water Beach beat two other finalists - Benneydale Public Toilets and Te Mata Peak Park - for the 2018 title.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Hot Water Beach public toilet officially opened a year ago, with its architectural styling intended to blend with the surrounding coastal environment.

Being right on the beachfront of the world-famous Hot Water Beach, the toilets had plenty of use from international tourists, New Zealand visitors and locals.

The toilets were also designed to handle large amounts of sand and was connected to an upgraded effluent system.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It's fantastic that our loo has been recognised as the best public loo in New Zealand," said Goudie.

However, not everyone was so enamoured.

Surf club chairman Gary Hinds said: "It would have been good if they had actually listened to what was needed.

"We had enough toilets but needed more changing rooms. Different ethnicities coming to the beach won't get changed in public, or on a big bench seat.

Discover more

Happy ending for town centre construction

12 Nov 11:40 PM

"What we wanted was more cubicles to get changed in because that overflows to the toilets and people are taking up toilets changing, when that space should be for people needing toilets."

Hinds also felt there had been an over-investment in car parks and the toilets but no extra investment in the Surf Lifesaving Club to ensure beachgoers were kept safe

"It's a bit frustrating watching them build this $800,000-plus toilet and us not getting anything out of it to put extra [patrols] on the beach. To me it's a health and safety issue."

Mayor Goudie said ratepayer money already contributed towards lifeguard services via the Waikato Regional Council.

Goudie urged people to "love the loo for their ones and twos, that's what we want our visitors to do".

"There are far too many visitors that defecate all over the show.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Toilets, in my view, are the number one infrastructure people look for. We should have an app identifying every public loo in the country."

And with the country's number one piece of number one infrastructure, Hot Water beach will be hoping these toilets are well prepared for number ones and twos this summer.

Made with funding from

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Police warn gangs after major drug operation

18 Jun 06:04 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Life-changing': International flights return to Hamilton Airport

18 Jun 05:23 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Police deal blow to Greazy Dogs' meth production

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Police warn gangs after major drug operation

Police warn gangs after major drug operation

18 Jun 06:04 AM

Police arrested 20 Greazy Dogs members over alleged meth crimes in Bay of Plenty.

'Life-changing': International flights return to Hamilton Airport

'Life-changing': International flights return to Hamilton Airport

18 Jun 05:23 AM
Police deal blow to Greazy Dogs' meth production

Police deal blow to Greazy Dogs' meth production

'I hate him': Partner of slain Tribesman lays blame for death at president's feet

'I hate him': Partner of slain Tribesman lays blame for death at president's feet

18 Jun 03:00 AM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP