Let’s be honest, most people don’t think twice about portable toilets or what happens after they flush. But in 2006, an Aussie bloke in hi-vis changed all that. His name was Kenny Smyth, and his mission? Keeping the world turning one portable dunny at a time.

“Kenny”, the film, did something incredible. It took the often-overlooked world of liquid waste management and made it heartfelt, hilarious, and even a little bit philosophical. And somehow, it managed to make septic tanks, portaloos, and festival toilets… a little bit endearing?

That’s no small feat.

Released in 2006, Kenny is a comedy starring Shane Jacobson. Kenny works for Splashdown, a company that supplies portable toilets to everything from music festivals to horse racing events and golf tournaments.

The movie follows his everyday grind delivering, pumping out, and servicing portaloos, all while juggling family drama, public misunderstandings, and the odd exploding chemical toilet.

One of his most iconic quotes?

“There’s a smell in here that will outlast religion.”

Despite its low budget and niche subject, Kenny was a box office hit in Australia. It pulled in over $7.6 million at the Aussie box office, making it one of the country’s most successful independent films at the time. It even made it to the Toronto International Film Festival and had a limited release overseas including the UK and the US.

Not bad for a movie about toilets!

Kenny captured something we don’t see enough of in cinema –  everyday people doing essential work without glamour or glory. Kenny isn’t a hero in the traditional sense. He’s just a bloke doing a dirty job with pride, humour, and humility.

And let’s be real, in rural Australia, portable toilets, septic tanks, and wastewater systems are part of daily life. Whether it’s a long-drop in the bush, or a tank that needs pumping out after a big weekend, we all rely on services like Kenny’s (and ours).

Australians have always had a special relationship with the dunny. From the iconic outhouse out the back of the farm to today’s chemical toilets on construction sites and festivals, we’ve never been too shy to laugh about our bathroom habits.

So it’s no surprise that Kenny became a cult classic  because only in Australia could a man in a septic truck become a national treasure!

Behind the laughs, Kenny sneaks in some solid lessons:

• Waste management is serious work, not glamorous, but absolutely essential.
• Proper maintenance matters – whether it’s a festival full of portaloos or a backyard septic tank.
• Respect the people doing the “dirty work”. They’re keeping society safe, sanitary, and moving forward (even when it’s not moving fast).

https://waroonaseptics.com.au/how-one-aussie-made-portable-toilets-a-national-treasure/

GUSNOTE: THIS POST COULD BE OF THE TRAIL, IN MY DAYS [BUGGER, I AM TALKING OF THE 1950s] THE AMERICANS, WERE CALLED THE "SEPTICS"... I CAN'T REMEMBER WHY, BUT THERE MUST HAVE BEEN A GOOD REASON....

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

SEE WHY THIS HAS BEEN KEPT SECRET:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCWdDKxK27w