131:, involving a network of shelters, sanitation facilities and first aid posts, all ventilated by air shafts, with a total of nine entrances. The tunnels run through sandstone and volcanic rock, and were mainly dug by hand by a team of 114 council workers, most of whom were middle-aged men who were unfit for war. The tunnels were lined with over 975 km of New Zealand native timber, including Kauri, Heart Rimu, Larch and New Zealand Stringy Bark. A total of 315 people were involved with this project.
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Since then, a number of schemes have been proposed to make use of reopened tunnels. In the 1960s there were newspaper articles proposing ideas, and interest was renewed in the 1990s by two groups: a businessman seeking to open them as a tourism venture, and a group of architecture students with their
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The central, arched access tunnels were 9 ft high (2.7 m), 15 ft wide (4.6 m), and 3,700 ft long (1,100 m); the grid of accommodation galleries – totalling 6,000 ft (1,800 m) – were 7 ft (2.1 m) square and provided with wooden seating. The floors were
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The tunnels were designed by city engineer James Tyler, and were estimated to cost £120,000 (about £6 per head), with £90,000 of the cost met by the government and the rest by
Auckland City. With planned shifts running twenty-four hours, the work was expected to take four to six months. Work began in
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The expected air raids did not happen, and with the tunnels unused, by the end of 1943 the timber supports were beginning to fail. By
February 1945, without the money to upgrade or convert the tunnels to other use, plans were made to fill them in. The tunnels were filled in with 8.8 million unfired
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indicated that deep shelters provided greater protection. Due to its topography and central location, Albert Park – a communal facility built in the 1880s on the site of an 1840s army barracks – was chosen as the site for a major construction. In 1942 a large complex of tunnels and shelters was
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The tunnel complex, unlike many other air raid shelter complexes, does not have blast doors, but instead has baffles. The baffle is a block in a tunnel constructed from wood, lead and stone to absorb the shock wave in the event of a bomb blast. The small tunnels around them allowed passage and
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February, with up to 300 men in gangs working three shifts a day six days a week, and the digging was completed in August. Carpentry and plumbing, at additional cost, was added over the following two months. The tunnels were officially opened by Mayor John Allum in
October 1942.
85:
felt the need for air raid shelters in the central city, in preparation for
Japanese attack. Work began in December 1941, and by January 1942, 16,300 feet of slit trenches had been dug around the city. Additional shelters were created in basements,
22:
Scan of engineering blueprint of the #4 air conditioning shaft and engine room. Illustrations on blueprint carried out by
Auckland City Council heritage management staff members following a soil subsidence into a cavity below the concrete blast
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As of June 2012, two
Auckland residents Bill Reid and Mark Howarth, were working on plans to have the first 25m of tunnel five excavated in order to create a museum depicting its history. However,
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In 1996, the city council signed a contract with tourism promotor
William Reid, giving him permission to unseal the tunnels and perform an inspection, with a view to developing a
235:– hidden by a decorative wall – and the steel door present at the foot of Constitution Hill. Three other blocked entrances are located behind the Park's Gateway sculpture.
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In 2005, subsidence occurred within the park, due to the collapse of in-fill soil within the old ventilation shafts. Blocked entrances can be seen at the top of
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Auckland city centre had a daytime population of 70,000, but by April 1942 shelter capacity was only 20,000. Furthermore, experience in
Britain during
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249:) and campaigning for the tunnels to be reopened as a tourist attraction and as a direct link for walkers and cyclists between Victoria Street and
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occurring in New
Zealand waters, domestic defence plans were necessary, with much capital being invested. Matters became urgent with the entry of
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217:. It took 15 men a total of 12 months to complete the back-filling process and the entrances were sealed and buried by 18 April 1946.
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A diesel engine from an old meatworks powered the ventilation fans and emergency lighting, as well as a loud-speaker system.
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advised that no investigations had been carried out with regards to work required to reopen the tunnels.
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In
January 2017, Reid was engaged in meetings with Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (
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Enlargement of Alten Rd entrance to tunnel complex with three 'baffles' encompassed inside red box
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There are more than 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) of tunnels, reaching from Constitution Hill to
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The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–1945, Volume I: The Home Front
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lecturer who considered the tunnels might offer a solution to Auckland's traffic problems.
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were already in place throughout the country, with a concentration in Auckland, and
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by Elizabeth Aitken Rose and the Auckland Engineering Heritage Committee of IPENZ.
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Management Plan at Auckland City Council - Appendix 2 summarising the history
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Enlargement of entrance 1 to tunnel complex with 'baffle' isolated in red box
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Enlargement of entrance 2 to tunnel complex with 'baffle' isolated in red box
525:"Access to Albert Park tunnels included in new legislation", 9 October 2001.
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Wednesday, 19 October 2005, 12:56 pm Press Release: Auckland City Council
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Albert Park Conservation/Management Plan: Archaeological Assessment
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established under the park, capable of sheltering 20,400 people.
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597:"Reopening of Albert Park tunnels 'will happen', advocate says"
462:"Albert Park Tunnels Agreement Signed", SCENE, 4 March 1996
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What lies beneath: the plan to open Albert Park’s tunnels
623:"Heritage values of the Albert Park air raid shelters".
373:"Heritage Walks: The Engineering Heritage of Auckland"
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reduced the shock with the perpendicular reflections.
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873:
825:
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635:, Wellington: Historical Publications Branch,
535:"Investigation into subsidence in Albert Park"
482:The New Zealand People at War - The Home Front
414:The New Zealand People at War - The Home Front
304:The New Zealand People at War - The Home Front
272:The New Zealand People at War - The Home Front
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8:
505:Exploration by the Intrepid Binary Brothers
213:clay blocks made by Crum Brick and Tile in
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228:. Related legislation was passed in 2001.
654:Archaepedia's entry for the tunnel system
330:, Clough & Associates, Auckland, 1996
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817:Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design
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343:. Aucklandcity.govt.nz. Archived from
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780:St Andrew's First Presbyterian Church
438:"Auckland GenWb: Albert Park Tunnels"
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947:Buildings and structures in Auckland
826:Geographic features and green spaces
341:"Auckland City Council: Albert Park"
64:New Zealand's involvement in the war
575:"Bid to reopen Albert Park tunnels"
972:1942 establishments in New Zealand
43:. The tunnels were constructed as
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977:1940s architecture in New Zealand
759:Auckland University of Technology
669:Google Maps image of Albert Park
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942:Military history of New Zealand
920:Auckland City Council (defunct)
765:Manu Tāwhiowhio: Bird Satellite
957:History of the Auckland Region
599:. Stuff.co.nz. 26 January 2017
523:New Zealand Government Website
116:Map of the Albert Park tunnels
1:
90:, Grafton Gully, and the old
55:build-up or tunnel collapse.
484:. Vol. 1. p. 573.
416:. Vol. 1. p. 518.
306:. Vol. 1. p. 517.
274:. Vol. 1. p. 511.
752:Buildings and organisations
548:"Aotearoa Cam: Albert Park"
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739:and the Learning Quarter,
625:Archaeology in New Zealand
621:Pilkington, Scott; (2008)
154:Illustrations of 'baffles'
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110:Construction and structure
31:are found largely beneath
967:Tunnels completed in 1942
631:Taylor, Nancy M. (1986),
848:Statue of Queen Victoria
510:7 September 2006 at the
480:Taylor, Nancy M (1986).
467:7 September 2006 at the
412:Taylor, Nancy M (1986).
302:Taylor, Nancy M (1986).
270:Taylor, Nancy M (1986).
66:began in 1939, and with
912:Waitematā and Gulf ward
865:Symonds Street Cemetery
440:. Rootsweb.ancestry.com
378:14 October 2008 at the
952:Tunnels in New Zealand
805:Owen G. Glenn Building
790:University of Auckland
92:Parnell railway tunnel
74:into the war in 1941.
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987:Albert Park, Auckland
907:Waitematā Local Board
135:covered with scoria.
83:Auckland City Council
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800:Old Government House
692:36.8514°S 174.767°E
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326:Clough, Rod (PhD);
68:Axis naval activity
29:Albert Park tunnels
347:on 5 February 2012
226:tourist attraction
202:Annotated 'Baffle'
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881:Central Connector
795:Old Arts Building
774:Karangahape Rocks
697:-36.8514; 174.767
554:on 28 August 2008
45:air raid shelters
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962:Learning Quarter
902:Auckland Council
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833:Albert Park
745:New Zealand
695: /
683:174°46′01″E
663:The Spinoff
47:during the
41:New Zealand
33:Albert Park
936:Categories
895:Government
680:36°51′05″S
616:References
573:Amy Maas.
121:See also:
88:the Domain
59:Conception
99:the Blitz
838:barracks
741:Auckland
508:Archived
465:Archived
376:Archived
215:New Lynn
37:Auckland
853:volcano
843:tunnels
581:17 June
444:17 June
351:17 June
251:Parnell
637:online
603:12 May
558:4 July
488:
420:
386:
310:
278:
257:Notes
247:ATEED
72:Japan
605:2017
583:2012
560:2008
486:ISBN
446:2012
418:ISBN
384:ISBN
353:2012
308:ISBN
276:ISBN
27:The
23:cap
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661:,
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253:.
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39:,
729:e
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
