 Remaining structures of the gaol in 2025 | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 43°36′8″S172°43′26″E / 43.60222°S 172.72389°E |
|---|---|
| Opened | c. 1860 |
| Closed | c. 1920 |
| City | Lyttleton |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Designated | 13 December 1996 [1] |
| Reference no. | 7353 |
The Lyttelton Gaol was a historic prison building and complex in Lyttelton, New Zealand.
The first buildings on the Lyttelton Gaol site began construction in 1851, with work carried out by William Chaney [2] and the design by Benjamin Mountfort. [3] The exact opening date of the gaol is not known. [4] The gaol's rules and regulations were first published in 1857, and the buildings were largely completed by 1861. [4] It was the first gaol in Canterbury. [5]
The building was cornered and faced with stone from Ōtamahua / Quail Island. [2] The main gaol building was surrounded by a high stone wall, [2] the top of which was embedded with broken glass and metal spikes. [6]
Convicts from the prison were used as hard-labour gangs doing public works construction, particularly reclamation and construction of wharves for the Port of Lyttelton, [6] as well as roads and retaining walls, many of which still exist today. [7] [8] During the 1870s convicts were also put to work constructing Fort Jervois on Ripapa Island. [9] For a time it was the main prison in the South Island. [10]
The gaol was subject to continued criticism from officials like Edward Seager throughout the 1860s, mostly due to its small size and the resulting cramped conditions. [11] In part, this was due to the gaol also housing debtors and the mentally insane. [8] A newer and larger gaol was planned to be built in Addington, New Zealand, which opened in the 1870s. [12]
William Donald was the medical officer at the gaol during the 1860s. [13]
Seven men were hanged at Lyttelton Gaol for murder between 1868 and 1918. [14] [8] Hangings were initially held outside the gaol, but moved within the walls in 1862. [15] A bell would toll to announce that a hanging was to occur, and the local children would climb the hills to have a view inside the prison grounds. [15]
Despite the formidable walls, a number of prisoners managed to escape from the gaol, mostly by absconding from the work gangs. The most famous of these escapees was James Mckenzie, who escaped custody twice. [16] The man convicted of fraud in the infamous "severed hand" case of 1885, Arthur Howard, was one of the few escapees to manage to scale the walls. [10]
During the early 20th century, newer prisons at Addington and particularly the new Christchurch Prison at Paparua—gazetted 5 January 1915 [17] —were housing the majority of inmates. [12] [3] By 1921, Lyttelton gaol was empty. [12] [18]
Demolition was a difficult challenge, as the prison walls were 2 feet (0.61 m) thick and made of solid concrete and stone masonry. [12] By the end of 1922, prisoners from Paparua were employed in deconstructing the prison. [12] Explosives had to be used to blast much of the structure apart. [19] The broken concrete was used for road metal as well as for reclamation projects at the port. [19]
After the demolition, the site was leased to the neighbouring Lyttelton Borough School for their playground. [20] The Upham Memorial Clock was installed on the site in 1953, to honour popular local doctor Charles Upham. [21] [22] The high concrete walls of the gaol at the rear and on one side remain, and are archaeologically significant as one of the earliest uses of concrete in New Zealand. [3] [8]
