‘Part of the Kiwi psyche’: A long drop goes on display at Dannevirke Gallery of History

A possum keeps watch on the long drop. Photo / Murray Holden

A long drop display that has been created by the Dannevirke Gallery of History gives a new meaning to the age-old museum adage of “do not touch”.

The long drop went on display a month ago and has given visitors a good laugh at the old-fashioned toilet’s attention to detail. Dannevirke Gallery of History president Murray Holden said he hopes people don’t get any ideas to actually use it.

The idea was inspired by stored totara slabs that were once in an old whare from Weber. The wood had laid unused for years. Wanting to utilise the genuine totara, Holden said he came up with the idea to make a long drop.

Holden explained that there was quite a process to finding all the necessary pieces, and one of those pieces just walked right into the museum.

“We had a local guy called Bill Gunderson, who happened to call in one day, and one of our volunteers said we are building a long drop out the back. He said I’ve got just the seat for it,” Holden said.

The donated seat originated from the Waipatiki oil field located east of Dannevirke and was the seat from the long drop at the back of the manager’s house.

Holden hoped to make the project a favourite feature and turned his attention to the specific details.

“We thought, what can we put in there and thought about putting a man sitting, with his trousers down reading a newspaper, but that’s been done before,” he said.

After a bit of research and hunting around, Holden found the perfect compromise, a taxidermy possum that would sit pride of place on the toilet seat.

The long drop at the Dannevirke Gallery of History. Photo / Murray Holden

“People that come in love it. We had one lady go and have a look at it. She opened the door and saw the possum and took off,” he said.

Holden believed the long drop is “part of the New Zealand psyche”, as it was extensively used before the country had sewage systems.

Long drops come in many different styles and were designed so that they could be lifted and moved once the hole became full.

Holden is proud of the realistic replica they have built. It gives the public the opportunity to have a bit of a laugh and learn at the same time.

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. Michaela covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.