One of the reasons that New Zealand women were largely confined to the home in the 19th century was that there were very few women's public toilets. Gradually these amenities became more widespread and evolved into rest rooms – places where women could also attend to their babies, have a cup of tea, and get changed if going to an event in town. These art-deco rest rooms in the Square, Palmerston North, were built in 1936.
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Private collection
Photograph by Simon Nathan
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