AN order has been given to pull down the coffin-shaped toilet at Millaa Millaa's town cemetery, despite an impassioned plea from the local Chamber of Commerce for it to stay.

Chamber members erected the toilet in the Theresa Creek Rd cemetery themselves after the Tablelands Regional Council said it could not afford to spend $83,000 on installing a convenience in the graveyard.

The toilet cost $1200.

However, it was built without planning permission on the council-owned land and contravened "numerous" plumbing and building regulations in the process, according to a report to councillors meeting at Mareeba.

Now the council has decided to tell the chamber that it will have to remove the coffin-shaped structure, which Cr Jenny Jensen labelled "disrespectful."

Cr Shaaron Linwood said that if the council let the illegal toilet stay, other people would do the same thing.
Chamber President Pat Reynolds told the council that toilets were not rocket science and that they had existed long before plumbers were required to be licensed.

"It is a good toilet, well built with septic tank and trench," Mr Reynolds said.

"We did it with all the best intentions for the benefit of the town, not for any personal gain."

He said the toilet meant that 99.9 per cent of the populationcould now attend funerals.

Mr Reynolds presented a petition with 305 names, about 90 per cent of the population, who said they were happy with the coffin toilet and wanted it to remain in the cemetery.

He said the objections came from a small group of "serial complainers" who did not speak for the townspeople and only one of whom ever shopped in the town.

It was "bloody nuts" to have less than 1 per cent of the population tell the rest they could not go to the toilet, he told The Cairns Post.

Mr Reynolds suggested the toilet be allowed to stay until the council had enough money to build one that met the various codes.

Instead, the council ordered the funeral march.

They are writing to the chamber telling it to remove the toilet or council workers will be sent in to shift it.

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