Mt Crawford Prison

The Dom Post Editorial on Wednesday discusses the proposal to scrap Mt Crawford Prison (by enlarging Rimutaka) and turn that whole area into a tourism area.

I know that prison area well having camped on their grounds (when I was in Scouting) many times, and also having explored the disused underground WWII bunker in the nearby pine forest (it used to host a battery gun to get an enemy ship entering the harbour). Also the Massey Memorial is next door.

The views from up there are amazing and spectacular. It is an irony that a bloody prison enjoys the best views and probably most valuable real estate in Wellington.

So if it was practical I’d love to see it happen. It is an absolute waste of great property. However Mt Crawford has a more secure rating than Rimutaka so one couldn’t just expand Rimutaka. You would need to build a new Wellington Prison, and that would take years with the consent process.