On a small block of land in the Strathbogie ranges sit the municipal facilities of Boho South: a public hall, bitumen tennis court (BYO net), and public toilet.
And what a toilet! Compact yet sturdy, the no-nonsense concrete block construction is a quintessential classic of Australian public toilet design.
Care has been taken where it matters—not on perfectly aligning the bricks, removing excess mortar, or neatly applying paint, but on building a functional, symmetrical dunny block that is largely open to the elements, allowing patrons maximum opportunity to soak in the bush surrounds whilst keeping cleaning costs to a minimum.
A gently sloping tin roof provides protection and privacy where required, and a septic tank vent is wisely placed over the male section of the facilities.
While this toilet is, in the author’s opinion, at its best on a hot, sunny day, a single centred floodlight ensures adequate illumination of both male and female facilities on busier nights, as it was on Friday, 26 November 1915, when the Boho South Public Hall was “filled to overflowing” welcoming Private Herbert James home from the First World War, as reported by the Violet Town Sentinel.
Cheers were called for in honour of Private James, which were “long and prolonged”. “Rule, Britannia” was sung, gifts were presented, and refreshments were served.
While I am uncertain whether this particular toilet block was standing at the date of this celebration, I imagine that it must have got quite the workout if so—particularly this intriguing feature in the men’s section (pictured below), which appears to be some sort of rudimentary urinal.
If I am incorrect and this is not a rudimentary urinal, I hope the local council (and any contracted cleaning staff) will accept my apologies.
Saw the review and as I hadn’t been here since last time, I made the decision to check out the latest developments on the way home from the Shepparton hill-climb. The tennis courts were still playable but I didn’t have the racquets in the Prius. Pity, as I don’t mind giving my balls a good walloping from time to time.The missus hadn’t heard of Boho South so she googled the history. Apparently, it was discovered in the late 1860’s by the lesser known dyslexic Dutch explorer, Dig Bickie. The story goes that after the civil war, Dig was deeply touched by the poor confederate hobos in Tennessee. When Dig finally made his way to the north east (and on noting the resemblance to the Appalachian mountains), he named the area Hobo South. Unfortunately, he dyslexically recorded it as Boho South. The missus also found out that Dig’s great, great grand kids received a retrospective payout from the Victims of Confederate hobosexual touching redress scheme. Justice is sweet. Unlike the aroma in the Boho South dunny.