Public toilet search: Australians enlisted to help flush out hidden dunnies
Pining for a pee? Desperate for a deuce? Everyone experiences an urgent need when nature calls, but finding the nearest dunny can be a challenge.
For those facing continence issues - be they children or the elderly, pregnant, disabled or dealing with other health concerns - the fear of not finding the facilities is so anxiety-inducing, almost 50 per cent won’t embark on a long trip without knowing exactly where their rest breaks will be.
Some 42 per cent surveyed by Continence Health Australia said incontinence had left them reluctant to leave home at all.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Set up by the federal government and maintained by the non-profit organisation, the National Public Toilet Map has become a crucial resource for those living with incontinence, parents, road-trippers or anyone just plain lost.
It details the location of some 24,200 toilets across Australia and what facilities they offer - for example, if they have change tables or ambulant disabled toilets.
More than 3.2 million searches for public toilets are carried out on the National Public Toilet Map every year.
Continence Health Australia, which believes thousands of other hidden toilets are out there, is calling on Australians to join the annual Great Dunny Hunt during April to register the toilets they discover on the map during the Easter holidays.
“You register on the website and once you’ve done that, when you’re travelling, you just upload info as you go,” Continence Health Australia CEO Jim Cooper told AAP.
“You can update it if you know toilets that are tucked away in little towns or in shopping centres or railways or other toilets that aren’t on the map.
“You can upload it during this once-a-year campaign.”
A recent audit in Queensland uncovered more than 100 public toilets that had previously flown under the radar, suggesting many more were waiting to be found.
Mr Cooper said he hoped to have 30,000 toilets on the map by the end of the campaign.
“These toilets are essential for many Australians,” he said.
Past hunts have put beachside loos, tucked-away park outhouses and outback long drops on the map.
Mr Cooper hopes this year’s effort will unearth even more, ensuring no Australian is ever caught with their pants down.
