Awardwinning toilet is a long way from a long drop
THOSE behind Colac Bay’s public toilet are flushed with success after it claimed the title of New Zealand’s best loo.
It won the honour at last night’s Keep New Zealand Beautiful Awards, held at Dunedin’s Toitu Otago Settlers Museum.
The toilets, which opened in July, beat rivals from Port Ohope Wharf Permaloo in Eastern Bay of Plenty and Spa Park in Taupo for the title.
Developed from a recycled shipping container, the public toilet was given a ‘‘Southland vibe’’ by mixedmedia imagery on the exterior, with the help of local photographers, handdrawn sketches and text.
Whanganui was crowned the Most Beautiful City, as well as winning the award for Best Street.
The winners for Most Beautiful Large and Small Town awards went to Cambridge and Waihi, respectively.
The Most Beautiful Towns and Cities finalists were judged by Keep New Zealand Beautiful chief executive Heather Saunderson and celebrity chef Michael Van de Elzen.
The event is an annual competition that recognises the environmental excellence of individuals, groups, businesses and schools.
Ms Saunderson said finalists demonstrated ‘‘bold leadership in implementing innovative sustainable projects that help reduce their environmental footprint and build resilient towns and cities’’.
‘‘These towns and cities are truly leading the way in tackling a variety of environmental issues, and we believe that their call to action will inspire others to create change.’’