A long time ago there was no way of treating sewage, so people simply got rid of their waste by throwing it out the door.

The waste would then flow into rivers and creeks which would become very dirty and smelly. Eventually first type of toilet was created - it was called a thunderbox! These were small cubicles outside of homes, which had buckets for people to go to the toilet. Once a week, a very unlucky man came to empty the bucket - imagine having that job!

Find out more about the history of sewage treatment plants by downloading the factsheet

Victorian Curriculum

Years 3 - 4:  Geography VCGGK082

Years 5 - 6:  Geography VCGGK096

• Sewage factsheet primary (465 KB)