When most of us oldies were young many of us can still remember the outside toilets or as most Aussies called them: Dunny's. It wasn't uncommon in many areas to have snakes, red backs and other spiders to give you a nasty surprise in those days. I've tried to capture some in photos for the younger generation to look at.
I think the most terrible part was that we had to use cut up squares of newspaper and then under the wooden toilet seat was a smelly collection drum. No flushing in those days. There were local Pan Men that came into our properties and collected them and replaced the pan with empty ones weekly.
They carried the pans over their shoulders so you could imagine what was said if they ever dropped one. Many of the first pan men used a horse and flat top wagon to collect the pans. Then later tray trucks were used.
Over time many were replaced by flushable toilets with cast iron water tanks with chains that you had to pull down. Today most have been moved indoors and are a luxury compared to that of the earlier Australian years.
Many of the remaining dunny's are true Australian icons from the past and they're well worth preserving.