By Jeremy Sollars
Rest assured there was nothing odd about a group of locals loitering outside the Warwick Town Hall toilets earlier this week – including one chained to the historic structure.
Members of the Southern Downs Residents Action Group ‘RANGE’ met up with the Free Times at the public convenience, adamant they represent the consensus of community opinion over a plan by the Southern Downs Regional Council to demolish the toilets.
Group member Jenn Greene-Galloway chained herself to the building in protest against the looming demolition, asking the question, “To what extreme do community members need to go to be heard?”
The council earlier this year announced the toilet block would be demolished to make way for three extra ‘RV’ vehicle parking spaces in the Town Hall carpark.
Mayor Tracy Dobie has often repeated her personal belief that the toilets are “unsafe” and “an eyesore”, but the council was forced onto the back foot following a community backlash, along with advice from the State Government that its approval would be required before the loos could be knocked down, and an application from a community member to have them heritage-listed.
Despite the heritage listing having been knocked back by the Queensland Heritage Council in August – a fact only revealed by our local council last week – RANGE members say the fight to save the toilets is far from over.
RANGE chairman Peter Kemp told the Free Times this week the group estimates the toilets are used by around 100 people every day, a mix of both locals and travellers – and with his own building background estimates the likely demolition cost could be anything up to $30,000.
Main street businesses surveyed by the Free Times are likewise adamant the toilets are well-used and would be missed should they be razed to the ground.
But RANGE members say the problem here is not just the toilet block itself – it’s also the way the council engages with the community and sets its priorities.
Group member Andrew Gale said the toilets are “a functioning community asset” and he fails to understand why the council is spending time and money on what is effectively a “non-issue”.
“The council says the toilets are unsafe – I mean, you’re more likely to be involved in an incident in the Maccas carpark at 2am than you are here,” he said.
“This structure has been poorly maintained externally – the outside paint job is poor, it could really be brought back to life and would blend in with the Town Hall better if it was sand-blasted and re-tiled and coated in clear silicone, a bit like the Stockyard Hotel, or painted in a sandstone colour.
“If security is a concern, then install lockable wrought-iron gates – it’s a historic structure and if you re-installed a replica of the original pull-chain system it could be a real tourist drawcard.”
Jenn Greene-Galloway also questioned the council’s priorities, saying it hadn’t listened to the voice of the community through its own survey on the future of the toilets.
“What was the point of the consultation exercise?” she said.
“We just feel that the councillors are rubber-stamping decisions instead of listening to the community and questioning the advice from council staff.
“We are appealing to our councillors to review this decision – the ball is in their court, it’s on their heads to save our heritage.
“We want to see this facility retained and restored back to its former glory.
“This isn’t about winners and losers bogged down in the trenches, it’s about what’s best for the community.”
Peter Kemp said it would cost “a fortune” to build a ‘like’ structure in place of the toilets, which, he said, date back to the 1930s and were built following a decision of the then Town Hall Committee of the council “for the workers”.
Melinda Gale pointed out that it’s not just shoppers and visitors to town who use the toilets.
“Many of the schools have their annual concerts and other events at the Town Hall – you can bet these toilets get used when you’ve got 600 dancing girls in there,” she said.
She acknowledged there are toilets within the Town Hall itself, but these cannot cater for big events and large crowds alone.
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The Free Times noted the toilets have had a recent internal paint job and asked the council how much it cost, and when the toilets were last painted inside.
A spokeswoman said, “About a week ago, council undertook painting works to remove graffiti and vandalism of the Town Hall toilets”, but would not disclose the cost or frequency of painting.
Last week the council issued a statement saying as a result of the Queensland Heritage Council decision not to heritage list the toilets it will now proceed with its plan to demolish them “subject to funding being identified in the budget”.
Mayor Tracy Dobie repeated her earlier statements that the toilets are a blight on the Town Hall precinct, saying they “remain a prime location for crime and vandalism and aren’t accessible by people with a disability”.
“There are several public toilet facilities located within close proximity, including in Grafton Street, as well as amenities available during business hours in the Town Hall, across the Council carpark near the Art Gallery, within Rose City Shoppingworld and at Leslie Park,” Cr Dobie said in the council statement.
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PART OF OUR HISTORY?
The Town Hall toilets are adjacent to Dornbusch Lane, which provides access from the Town Hall car park through to Palmerin Street.
The lane is named in honour of Conrad Dornbusch, one half of the architectural firm Dornbusch and Connolly, who as well as the toilets designed some of Warwick’s other fine buildings and landmarks, including St Mary’s Catholic Church, the Warwick General Cemetery, the Criterion Hotel and some notable homes in town, including ‘Avalon’ on Glengallan Road, the Dornbusch family home in the late 1800s.
Dornbusch and Connolly also designed and built the Johnsons Buildings on Palmerin Street, with Dornbusch Lane alongside them.
COUNCIL DEADLOCK
At the May council meeting in the absence of Deputy Mayor Jo McNally, who was on annual leave, Mayor Tracy Dobie used her casting vote to break a four-all deadlock between the councillors over the toilets’ demolition.
Councillors Sheryl Windle, Marika McNichol, Neil Meiklejohn and Vic Pennisi all voted against demolishing the toilets.
In the pro-demolition camp were Councillors Rod Kelly, Yve Stocks, Cameron Gow and Mayor Dobie herself, making it four-all.
The council plans to create three new parking spaces for RV campervans in place of the toilet block.
Nearly 40 submissions were received from the public during the council consultation exercise earlier in the year, with the majority in favour of the toilets remaining in place.
One local resident even offered to paint the toilets for the council at his own expense.
