A Loo of One's Own

A Loo of One's Own by Eleri Harris

Shortlisted for both the New Illustrator and Eve Pownall Award in this year's Children's Book Council of Australia 2026 Book of the Year Awards, A Loo of One's Own is an interesting and entertaining (mostly true) look into the history of women in federal parliament and the first two women ever elected: Dorothy Tangney and Enid Lyons.

This book highlights the challenges they faced, not just in being recognised and trusted in higher positions in government but in doing something so basic as going to the bathroom. As Parliament was set up for men, they hadn't even built a women's toilet and were so doubtful that any other women would be elected that they didn't see the point in building one. Looking back from where we are now, this is almost unimaginable.

Even the administrative workers, cleaners and other non-politician women working in Parliament would go home to use the bathroom, walk to other buildings or find visitor toilets. The space was not built to include women. They began using a system of leaving shoes by the toilet door to warn men that the toilet was occupied and they continued doing so for 30 years. Finally, in 1974, a women's toilet was created, which was just one of the many impressive changes that Dorothy and Enid helped bring about for women in Australian democracy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The illustrations are engaging and beautiful, and the writing is quick and entertaining. I didn't know much about this topic before reading the book, so it was quite a journey to go on. I highly recommend this book to anyone, young or old. Dorothy Tangney and Enid Lyons deserve great recognition for what they did for women and, in turn, for Australian society.

A Loo of One's Own by Eleri Harris

Nichaud