General News
10 February, 2026
CWA toilets gone for good
THE Byrnes Street CWA restrooms were a disgusting, shameful facility and would be closed for good, Mareeba Shire Council has determined.
At its first meeting of the year last month, a motion for the immediate closure was debated and carried during business without notice, with funding to be allocated for construction of an alternative toilet block at the Railway Avenue access and former ANZ car park.
The quaint old building has been the subject of debate for years, with recent calls for it to be rejuvenated as a comfort stop for Savannahlander train passengers who now board at the Mareeba Station platform.
This prospect was raised by Cr Nipper Brown who opposed the decision, arguing the CWA amenities were in the “best location”.
“Because if we’re going to build the railway station there, which David Kempton has promised that he will, where do all the people from the train go to the toilet? That’s one thing,” he said.
The site was also central and close to medical and postal services, which was important for elderly people using those services.
“I’ve had a week where I’ve been doing this with elderly parents – you’re forever looking for the toilets,” Cr Brown said.
“I just think we need a toilet there. I understand that it costs ratepayers a heap of money through vandalism, but I believe that is the best location. You’ve got local businesses there, you’ve got the train station there, what do we have up at ANZ (carpark)?”
Cr Mary Graham said she understood “where Cr Brown was coming from”, but you only had to enter the premises and “actually see what’s goes on in that area – it’s an absolute disgrace to our town”.
She said staff at her family-run business would see the state of the building at 3am and it was a never-ending cycle of vandalism and misuse, with syringes, faeces and rubbish littering the toilets.
Deputy Mayor Lenore Wyatt agreed that the toilets were old and at “absolute capacity”.
“And look at our reports here, $22,000 has come out of our budget in December – and a lot of its going towards those toilets and graffiti, and us having to go in there and clean those things up.”
Council had earlier heard $22,700 had been spent on repairs and maintenance due to vandalism, as presented in the Corporate and Community Services financial statements report for 1 July 2025 to 31 December 2025 .
“I think as councillors we sit around this table and we have to make the hard decisions, to say ‘well, enough is enough’,” Cr Wyatt continued.
“Is this Ground Hog Day? We put our staff back in the same situations where there’s needles, where they are abused… we need to make a stand and close those toilets.
“Ratepayers should not have to pay for us doing the same old thing and expecting a different result.”
Cr Wyatt acknowledged that people might be worried about the future of the historic building, which was “close to our hearts”, but it would be re-imagined in the CBD Blueprint.
CBD Blueprint chair Cr Amy Braes said while it was yet to be endorsed by council, Project Blueprint understood the significance of the building to the history of the town.
“We need to learn more about the history of that site, we don’t know what that is, but what we do know is that it was never designed to be a public toilet – it is not fit for purpose.”
While Cr Braes did not like the idea of having no toilets in the vicinity until the new block was built, there were alternatives, such as those at Rotary Park and Mason Street.
Speaking after the meeting, Mayor Angela Toppin said the CWA site had been an issue for some years, and the key element now was the constant state of the toilets and the building was simply too old.
“We can’t keep asking staff to go in there every day, and clean the mess on the floor and off the walls,” she said.
“It’s not a case of doing away with the CWA building, because it’s got a long history to it, and we all have memories.
“That’s where we used to take our babies to be checked, it was a beautiful little place, now you wouldn’t go near it.”
Mayor Toppin said there had been discussions in the past of opening it up to becoming a little café or an arts and crafts outlet.
“It will be re-purposed properly,” she said.
