Loo Lyn’s hanging up the brush

Lyn Coley retires today. PHOTO/GIANINA SCHWANECKE

GIANINA SCHWANECKE
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Today Masterton District Council says goodbye to the other half of ‘Loo Lyns’, with Lyn Coley announcing her retirement after 23 years of service.

Mauriceville woman Lyn Coley is famous for her knitted baby clothes and homemade jams but for almost a quarter century, she’s also been the smiling face to greet people as the custodian of the Bannister Street toilets.

She started at the Queen Street toilets in 1994 as a part-timer but moved to the Bannister St block after it was built in 2000.

She made up one half of the once-famous ‘Loo Lyns’ duo – working alongside Lynnette Hannam, the two would refer to each other as ‘Lyn 1’ and ‘Lyn 2’.

Sadly, Hannam passed away six years ago.

As custodian Coley has been responsible for cleaning all the bathrooms and attending to customers’ needs.

Coley said she saw as many as 250 people a day.

“It’s a real community place. We have our regulars who come in and have a chat.”

Many people also stopped in to see her collection of knitted children’s clothes and booties, including garments sized for premature babies.

At first, she only brought in her knitting to keep busy when not cleaning or serving customers, but later began to get requests.

“I’ve had a lot of young mums come in with their babies and helped them to change nappies.

“The council joked they want me to continue selling my stuff outside the entrance.”

After losing her husband Donal last year, Coley decided it was time for her to leave and do some travelling.

She said she had only been outside the country once, and was looking forward to visiting her parent’s native Ireland and Scotland early in the New Year.