donko
/ˈdɒŋkəʊ
/noun (plural donkos) NZ informal
A room in a workplace where employees spend breaks: there’d be after-work drinks in the donko...
- Government photographers also ventured from the factory into the staff cafeteria, the tea-room, or the 'donko' to record workers at rest.
- He sits in the donko beside the rotary milking shed on the 235-hectare family farm.
- It’s equally clear you don’t visit construction site donkos.
Origin
1970s: possibly an abbreviation of slang donkey room, a room housing a donkey engine at the Wellington wharves, where workers would shelter in inclement weather.