A convenient stop - Hundertwasser Toilets
No clinical, cold-metalled seats were to goose pimple our bottoms in the search for a rest stop. No, we were holding on (quite literally) until Kawakawa, gateway to the Bay of Islands and home to the king of all public conveniences, the Hundertwasser toilets.
A brightly coloured archway heralded the entranceway to this little town and as we drove down the main street, similar, fantastically sculptured columns beckoned us to the toilets themselves.
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Internationally renowned artist, ecologist and architect, Freidrich Hundertwasser’s love for his adopted town Kawakawa brought him out of his reclusive lifestyle to build the public toilets, which were completed in 1999. A bunch of leaflets, held in a delightful silver sculpture outside the ladies, informed us that the Austrian born artist visited the site every day during construction and that this was the last project he undertook and, we learnt, the only structure built by him in the Southern Hemisphere.
Stepping into the toilets themselves we marvelled at the mosaic tiling, copper handwork, sculptures and cobblestone flooring. How many people, we wondered, sneaked into the other side of the male/female divisions to take a peek at what artistry might be on the other side – we certainly did, and were not disappointed. The eco- friendly architect used old glass bottles and reclaimed bricks from a former Bank of New Zealand building for the project. A living tree is integrated into the structure and tufts of native grass adorn the roof - a fitting crown for this king of toilets whose golden orbs add a final regal touch.
Empty shop-fronts and a larger than necessary collection of take-away restaurants at first glance show a small rural town suffering the way of many similar towns around New Zealand. But a second and subsequent glances show something more. Little hidden gems around the town hint at its creativity and artistic plans for the future. Little railway carriage tiles pave a route on the footpaths, brightly coloured pottery columns and mosaic tiled shop fronts - and the latest creation on the sunny main street, an adobe bench seat with tiny mirrored glass and curvaceous bricks that look like plump cushions. Clay, sand newspapers, pots and local coal were incorporated into the construction of this community project, marking Kawakawa’s history as a coal mining town.
The railway tiles are of course a reflection of the historic railway, whose tracks run through the centre of town. Kawakawa is in fact the only town in New Zealand to boast a railway track through the centre of the commercial area. Although not running when we visited, fundraising by the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway Trust seems to be succeeding and a train will soon be chugging once again along the 13 kms of track between Opua and Kawakawa with it’s 80m long tunnel and 12 bridges. A stop not just of convenience then, but of charm and frivolity.
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