I am fascinated by old Australian heritage houses and sheds, The outdoor "dunny" is quintessentially Australian before sewerage was introduced.
The dunny was originally any outside toilet. In cities and towns the pan-type dunny was emptied by the dunny man, who came round regularly with his dunny cart. Dunny can now be used for any toilet. The word comes from British dialect dunnekin meaning an 'earth closet, (outside) privy' from dung + ken 'house'. First recorded in the 1930s but dunnekin is attested in Australian sources from the 1840s.
The word dunny appears to come from the French word Dunegan meaning privy – Dunnakin.
The first Australian print reference was in 1952. T. A. G. Hungerford in ‘The Ridge & the River’: “Right now there might be a Shinto under every bush, and me stuck out like a dunny in a desert.”
The outhouse building gained a reputation as being identifiably Australian – Paul Hogan, the Australian comedian, was once described as being as ‘Australian as a slab off a dunny door.”
Dunnies came in all shapes and sizes and are now considered an important part of our architectural heritage. Songs have been sung about them (The Redback on the Toilet Seat/Slim Newton. ‘The Pub With No Dike’ /Fahey), poems and songs composed, and books have documented their unique designs