Mount Eden Prisons

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The old Mt Eden prison exterior.
Exterior view of the old prison.

The Mount Eden, New Zealand, prison site currently holds two separate prison facilities, the historic Mount Eden Prison and the Mount Eden Corrections Facility. The historic Mount Eden Prison has housed prisoners since 1888. Its design and functionality is now outdated and the deteriorating condition of the buildings makes it difficult to keep prisoners securely and humanely contained. In 2008 a decision was made to redevelop the prison site and create a single integrated prison called the Mount Eden Corrections Facility. The Department says that when the new facility is fully operational, the old Mt Eden Prison will be emptied and be 'mothballed' in case extra prison capacity is required in future.[1]

History

The original Mt Eden prison was a military stockade built in 1856. It became the city's main prison when the old city gaol (corner of Queen and Victoria streets) was demolished in 1865. The stone wall and the foundations were completed in 1872, the building proper was commenced in 1882 and finished in 1917.

Intended to house 220 prisoners, it was designed by Pierre Finch Martineau Burrows and resembles Dartmoor Prison in England. Its design was based on prevailing thinking at the time that such facilities should be unpleasant places to be dreaded[2] and consisted of a radial design with a number of wings radiating out from the centre like the spokes of a wheel. This allowed for control from the centre and "a new mode of obtaining power of mind over mind",[3] an application of the panopticon prison design theories of Jeremy Bentham.

Mount Eden Prison has a colourful history. Prisoners were executed there and it was the site of New Zealand's last execution, in 1957 when Walter James Bolton was hanged for poisoning his wife Beatrice.[4] There were few escapes but a song was written about one famous escapee, George Wilder. In 1963, Wilder escaped and was free for 172 days, during which time he travelled 1,620 miles and committed 40 crimes. Pat Boone's song 'Speedy Gonzales' was rewritten by the Howard Morrison Quartet and became 'George The Wilder Colonial Boy'.[5]

There was a major riot at Mt Eden prison on Tuesday and Wednesday, 20 and 21 July 1965. Prisoners rioted for 33 hours after a prison guard caught two prisoners trying to escape. Chaos ensued as prisoners burnt much of the prison[6] , including the prison records. The riot was a sensational event for the pupils and staff of the two neighbouring boys' secondary schools, Auckland Grammar School and St Peter's College.[7][8][9] The old prison has been given a 'Category I' classification by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.

Privatisation

In July 2000, Mt Eden prison was transferred to the control of Australasian Correctional Management Limited (later called Global Expertise in Outsourcing NZ Ltd) and became New Zealand's first privately run prison. It was renamed the Auckland Central Remand Prison. However, the Labour Party was opposed to the privatisation of prisons and in July 2005, put the prison back under the control of the Corrections Department.[10]

The Prisons have been the site of several protests. Pictured is a protest which took place in October 2007 over recent police raids.

In June 2007 it was announced that a new six-storey prison building and another four-storey accommodation block would be built on the southern side of the old Mount Eden prison building by 2011. This would increase the total number of beds by 450. The nineteenth-century prison complex would be converted to administrative space, in accordance with its heritage classification.[4]

The prison redevelopment included a new secure gatehouse, a visitor centre and a multi-level carpark added to the structure. Underground tunnels link the different sections. The barbed wire around the complex disappeared and was replaced by high secure walls.[4] There was some criticism of the proposed height of the new prison building, which at up to 30 metres (98 ft) is visible from the close-by motorway viaduct and towers over the surrounding area, which has a 15-metre (49 ft) building height limit. Vocal opponents included the former Mayor of Auckland, John Banks.[11]

In May 2010, the new National led Government decided that contract management would once again be implemented at Auckland Central Remand Prison. This time the contract was awarded to Serco[12] - a British company which runs prisons and other services in a number of different countries.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mount Eden Corrections Facility Redevelopment, Corrections Department Factsheet
  2. ↑ History of Mt Eden, Corrections Department website.
  3. ↑ Bentham, Jeremy. Panopticon (Preface). In Miran Bozovic (ed.), The Panopticon Writings, London: Verso, 1995, 29-95.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Binning, Elizabeth (15 June 2007). "Six-storey jail for Mt Eden". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
  5. ↑ The Howard Morrison Quartet (from the 'folksong.org.nz' website. Retrieved 2007-10-20.)
  6. ↑ Auckland City Libraries, Heritage Image 7-A2108 (retrieved 9 June 2011) (Photograph taken 2 September 1965 - unknown photographer) Mt Prison Prison some two months after the riot and fire - the damage to the buildings is very evident.
  7. ↑ The Auckland Prison Riot, 1965 (from the Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 2007-11-10.)
  8. ↑ Go-ahead for new Mt Eden jail - The New Zealand Herald, Friday 15 June 2007, Section A, page 2.
  9. ↑ Fifty Years at Grammar or Tales Out Of School - Nicholls, C. N. ("Streak"), ESA Books, 1987, Page 218
  10. ↑ Privately-run prisons not an option, says Swain New Zealand Herald, 13 July 2005.
  11. ↑ Orsman, Bernard (4 December 2007). "Mayor incensed at high-rise jail plan". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
  12. ↑ Controversial private prison opens, New Zealand Herald, 30 March 2011.

External links

Coordinates: 36°52′02″S 174°46′01″E / 36.8671543°S 174.7669029°E / -36.8671543; 174.7669029

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