Flushed with success

A mammoth volunteer effort has transformed a toilet block described as the worst in New Zealand into a "monument to civic pride".

Paihia's once dark and smelly Marsden Rd toilets are next to the town's coach stop, making them the first impression for many a visitor arriving by bus.

A tourism leader called them "a true embarrassment", while a visitor wrote on a cubicle wall: "Worst public toilets I have seen thus far in NZ".

If she came back now, however, she would find the loos have been transformed by a group calling itself the Paihia Phantom Placemakers.

The volunteers spent nine days knocking down walls and ripping out fittings, then rebuilding and redecorating.

A hefty front wall has been cut down to below eye level to let in light and fresh air and make the loos safer. Stainless steel fittings have been replaced by porcelain basins and toilet bowls, the walls have been tiled, and Kiwiana mirrors and coloured leadlights have been installed. The old bowls have been turned into planters in an irrigated roof garden decorated with marine relics.

The loos were opened on Sunday by Australian urban design guru David Engwicht, who helped out, and Grant Harnish, chairman of the community trust Focus Paihia.

Mr Engwicht said the outcome was beyond his wildest expectations. "Grant asked me to have a look at the toilets and see if there was anything we could do with them. The only thing he could think of was to put a bulldozer through them - but anything can be turned into something amazing with a bit of imagination."

The open, unisex design was not based on a whim but the latest trends in public toilet design; and the group had deliberately sought out the kind of fittings people would use at home.

"They felt dangerous and scary. Now they feel like home."

The project was done to a budget of $15,000 with volunteer labour, recycled materials and fittings supplied at cost.

"The old days of throwing $250,000 at a toilet block are over. There's not enough money and you just end up with a toilet block that looks like every other toilet block in the world."

Mr Engwicht was amazed by the volunteers' dedication and creativity. "It's like a monument to civic pride in a community, and it was all done in a toilet."

Mr Harnish said tradesmen - tilers, plumbers, electricians, drainlayers and engineers - had given their time free of charge and worked some days until 1am. The project also had support from the Far North District Council.

External security cameras have been installed to deter vandalism.