Toilets For All - Auckland’s Public Toilet History

Public toilets sure do have stories to tell. Join Samantha Waru for a dive into the interesting, and sometimes indecorous, history of Auckland’s public toilets from the 1860s to today.

Exploring something as mundane as the public toilet can tell us a lot about who was here and what their needs were. It is essentially a story of access, women’s rights, urban development, public health and power. This talk will set the scene of 19th century Auckland and flush out the stories of how some of our most recognisable loos came to be.

Samantha Waru
Samantha is the Graduate Heritage at Auckland Libraries. Since February 2019 she has worked with multiple teams across the heritage and research teams of Auckland Libraries as part of the Auckland Council Graduate Programme. Her research into public toilets was completed during her rotation with the Auckland Council Archives team.

She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Auckland University in history and anthropology, a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Museums and Cultural Heritage as well as a Master of Heritage Conservation. She has experience working with Heritage New Zealand and MOTAT and has a passion for local history.

Photo: Showing cars, trucks, trams, motorcycles on Symonds Street at Grafton Bridge corner. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 7-A11030

Book now.

If we are at Alert Level 1, join us in person in the Whare Wananga L2 Central City Library or online via Zoom whatever level we are at.