8 minute read
Unlocking potential
Dunedin’s former prison is being transformed into a place that people want to enter – rather than leave
WORDS: JAMIE DOUGLAS • IMAGERY: ALAN DOVE
How’s this for an ironic twist in the passage of time? Today customers pay to get into the former Dunedin Prison, only to then experience the thrill of trying to break out of its imposing brick walls in just one hour.
The escape-game experience is now being offered at the former prison on Castle Street in the central city, but for the Dunedin Prison Charitable Trust and its chair Owen Graham, the ultimate goal is to turn the whole prison – rebranded as the Dunedin Gaol – into a total visitor experience; a place where people want to come and stay.
And it seems it’s just a matter of time before the right keys will be found to unlock the potential of the historic prison, given the vision and drive shown by the trust, funding support from various agencies and the input of skilled heritage advocates.
All sorts of people have been guests of the penal institution, which was built in 1897 and designed by Government Architect John Campbell in the Queen Anne style.
The front-facing administration wing has three supporting cell blocks with an enclosed central courtyard. It makes for an ominous sight, inside and out, when visiting.
The trust operates guided tours in which you learn about the likes of Agnes Inkster, locked up for bashing people with her umbrella at a Salvation Army street meeting in 1909; Sarah Fogo, sentenced to be hanged after stabbing her husband to death in 1900; incorrigible rogue Louis Godfrey, a skilled carver who in better times worked on First Church and Larnach Castle but did a 12-month lag in 1909 for being idle and disorderly; and David Bain, acquitted in 2009 on all charges after being convicted of five counts of murder in 1995, who spent time in cell number 37.
It’s easy to get an insight into and a feel for what life was like inside, before the prison closed in 2007. Originally the cells that surrounded the central courtyard offered no protection from the elements, save for the locking of a heavy cell door.
Conditions were bleak and basic, with toilets only introduced into cells in 2001, replacing buckets. The ablution areas were about the only progressive and worthwhile addition to the prison, which is now on the mend after years of neglect and heritage maltreatment.
Owen is clearly excited at the progress of the trust in ensuring Dunedin Gaol is once again a key part of a Dunedin heritage precinct that includes the Law
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Courts, Toitū Otago Settlers Museum and Dunedin Railway Station. The trust purchased the prison from Ngāi Tahu in 2012 after it was decommissioned by the Department of Corrections. Last year the trust received the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Conservation Award for Stage 1 of its restoration journey.
“It’s a huge project,” says Owen, as he and architectural conservator Guy Williams discuss progress to date while in the prison courtyard on a brisk Dunedin day.
“The key for the trust is to preserve the building so it is appealing to funders and future tenants. We don’t have earthquake issues, the roof will last up to another 100 years and the refurbished exterior won’t require work for at least another 20 years.
“The project’s first stage was to bring back the appeal of Dunedin
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Gaol to the public. The trust has reset its strategic direction, seeing its role as kaitiaki of the building’s preservation, promoting the stories of events that have happened here and the asset that this building can be to the wider community in the future.
“This is all being done while recognising its Category 1 listing, the covenant on the building and its place within a heritage precinct.”
Guy is a key member of the restoration project – “our mastermind, really” – says Owen, who prepared an inventory and description of the prison’s significant heritage features in 2009.
In 2014 he prepared a comprehensive roof and associated features condition report, along with specifications for repair and restoration, ahead of being project and contract manager for the first stage of work to repair and restore the street-facing administration block and annexe.
“The focus has been on making the exterior weather-proof and reinstating heritage features torn off from the 1940s through to the 1970s,” says Guy.
“A lot of the original design elements were completely messed up in an architectural way, with the detail either removed or covered over for expediency.”
The project’s second stage will involve reslating the roof and completing exterior repairs and refurbishment of the three cellblock wings, with $100,000 in grants from the Dunedin City Council and Otago Community Trust being a massive boost.
All the century-old slates will be removed, along with the tarred felt underlay, which will be replaced with a new, high-tech membrane, and new slates laid. If the trust secures enough funding, two
kaitiaki:
caretaker, guardian
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6 Rows of cells only vacated in 2007.
The view across the courtyard to first- and second-floor cell blocks.
The walkway between part of the courtyard and kitchen area.
This corridor would originally have been open-air, without the windows and walls at left.
A typical cell with single stretcher. The toilet was only installed in 2001.
Architectural conservator Guy Williams and Dunedin Prison Charitable Trust Chair Owen Graham.
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gate pillars originally at the front entrance will be reinstated.
The conservation work has unearthed some great finds, including police batons, an old prisoner’s cap and knives, or ‘shivs’, hidden under the attic floorboards, and various beer and spirit bottles attached to cords, which was probably a means used by inmates of receiving alcohol from outside the prison walls.
The project’s third stage will feature a revitalisation of the courtyard which, over time, has been infilled with separate work rooms and caged recreation spaces for inmates.
“The courtyard project is a key part of getting people back here using it, with one exciting option being a glazed roof to enclose and weatherproof the courtyard,” says Owen.
“The idea is to remove the relatively recent courtyard additions and bring it back to its original appearance. The courtyard was an open space, with the belief that fresh air was the healthy option for inmates. Winter would have been interesting for them.”
With the prison complex around 2400 square metres, the conservation project is mammoth and requires funding.
Owen says the trust would be delighted if anyone could offer financial support. Public tours, car parking and a rental from Escape Dunedin help to cover day-to-day operations, insurances, council rates and basic maintenance.
“While the prison’s Victorian past includes disturbing aspects,” he says, “its future could be really bright. That’s what we are presenting to potential investors and developers – that there is a unique and exciting opportunity to be part of the prison’s ongoing history.” www.dunedinprison.co.nz
HAPPY BEHIND BARS
It’s fair to describe architectural conservator Guy Williams as a ‘lifer’ when it comes to heritage conservation. The court of public and professional opinion holds him in the highest regard, as was reflected in his receipt of the Dunedin City Council’s Pam Jordan Services to Heritage Award last year. The award recognises an individual’s or organisation’s dedication to and support of Dunedin heritage.
While today the prison – and hang gliding – occupies much of his time, other significant projects he has been involved in include the Category 1-listed Dhargyey Buddhist Centre on Royal Terrace, Larnach Castle, Larnach’s Tomb at the Dunedin Northern Cemetery, Waikouaiti Coast Heritage Centre (originally a bank built in 1869) and Cargill Monument at The Exchange.
Guy’s involvement with the Dunedin Prison Charitable Trust is connected to the other projects he has worked on – particularly the link with architect John Campbell.
“I’ve come to really appreciate John Campbell’s architecture – he was an incredibly competent fellow,” says Guy.
“I was involved when working with [Heritage New Zealand] in 2002 on the refurbishment of the Dunedin Law Courts, and after leaving that job I was asked to do a building archaeology survey of Sunnyside Hospital’s administration block in Christchurch, another John Campbell building.
“It was fascinating to see how he put it together. The Law Courts building and the prison are very much the same, with very well thought out construction details.
“The prison fits incredibly well within a modern environment. Campbell created a courtyard prison with the Fabian concept of restorative justice – the courtyard’s open galleries allowing for sun traps on a fine day – which makes it a really elegant and attractive building, even if it was a prison, in the heart of a heritage precinct.
“It’s a privilege to be involved.” n RETURN TO CONTENTS
Slippery slopes
Carving up the steep slopes of a favourite ski field is a Canterbury family tradition. At the foothills of the Southern Alps in Selwyn are five club fields within a short distance of each other: Temple Basin, Broken River, Craigieburn, Mt Olympus and Mt Cheeseman, which is near Porters, a smaller
commercial field. Skiers can traverse from one ski field to another in a day. Each ski field has its own history and hallmarks, yet they all share the same magical powder snow.
In this image, taken as the sun sets on the Torlesse Range, the last skier glides effortlessly down the slope to the Mt Cheeseman ski lodge, where a warm lounge,
WORDS AND IMAGE: KELLY LYNCH
dinner and bunk bed await. The slopes are on Mt Cockayne, near Castle Hill. Last year Mt Cheeseman Ski Club celebrated its 90th anniversary after humble beginnings in 1929 as the Canterbury Winter Sports Club.
Today the club has two accommodation lodges and a day lodge, two T-bar ski lifts and a learner tow.
www.mtcheeseman.co.nz
TECHNICAL DATA
Camera: Canon 5D MkII Lens: Canon 24mm Exposure: 1/320, f8 ISO: 800
