Historic pissoir returns as 'novel' nature stop

What is almost certainly the only pissoir in the country will be refurbished by Masterton District Council in the coming months and reinstated at Queen Elizabeth Park.

The pissoir is a historic cast-iron urinal dating to about 1906. It was taken out of commission in the 1970s and put into storage.

The decision to reinstate the pissoir is timely, as councillors have also decided to install two semi-automatic Pasadena toilets at the park and at Kuripuni Shopping Centre.

Wairarapa archivist Gareth Winter said the pissoir would "almost certainly" be the only one in the country.

Mayor Garry Daniell said the urinal was in keeping with the heritage precinct of the park.

"It's a unusual feature which fortunately somebody's stored away," he said. "It's as appropriate today as it was last century."

He said the feature would be "novel" and was timely with the update of the park and Kuripuni toilets.

The pissoir was one of two originally sited in Hall St, now Lincoln Rd, before being relocated to the park.

It remained in use until being taken out of commission more than 30 years ago.

Eight pissoir are still in operation in Melbourne and other working examples stand in cities around the world, including London, Birmingham and Sydney.

The restoration of Masterton's pissoir - which will take about three months to complete - includes sand blasting the original cast iron, coating with an anti-graffiti surfacing, fitting out with modern urinals and a hand basin that are in keeping with the structure's heritage and re-installing the structure in the park. The total estimated cost for this project is $48,500.

Councillors also agreed to spend $176,000 on the park and Kuripuni toilets.

The toilets and the pissoir will be painted the traditional park green, although there is an opportunity for a mural to be painted on the side of the Kuripuni toilet in future.