Where is the Heritage Protection? Here is an idea to protect this Napier Prison?
A pine forest on Marine Parade? It does not make sense! These trees need to be removed to get light and sun back on the corner of Marine Parade and Coote Road. I am calling on Heritage New Zealand and Historic Places Trust Aotearoa to do their job and start protecting this unique New Zealand Maritime Heritage!
That looks much better! It cost $180,000 to remove these trees. Sooner or later these trees have to be removed because they have reached the end of their natural lifespan. Some trees are already leaning across Marine Parade footpath and they are damaging the historic retaining limestone wall on Marine Parade. If the Treaty Settlement is concluded, the Iwi will have to pay for these trees to be removed sooner or later. It is LINZ job to get these trees removed, not the Iwi's job.
A improved track from Marine would simply reconnect back up to the old Napier Prison and lighthouse how it was 150 years ago. Visitors to Napier City would simply walk up that new track to the prison and lighthouse and get the best views all over Hawke's Bay. A small cafe in the prison gardens would create employment, an income and assure the long term maintenance of this prison. That is the only way of how this prison and Maritime Heritage can be saved. Any better ideas I am happy to concede with this project but so far I have not seen any other or better ideas of how this prison can be saved.
So far I have 100% support for this project from Maritime New Zealand, Stuart Nash, The Manukau Head Replica Trust and Toro Waka. Please support me because more support is needed. This prison is not a liability, it is an opportunity for Napier and the Mana Ahuriri Trust to show New Zealand how Heritage protection can work when Maori and the Grown work together to protect such Heritage.
The Corner of Coote Road and Marine Parade. The old Napier Prison on Marine Parade would have the best views in town if all these huge pine trees are removed. It is absurd to have a business on top of this hill but hiding away from sight. Most visitors to Napier never go to see this prison because nobody knows it is actually there. Hopefully Mana Ahuriri will prove us all wrong, run with the idea and take advantage of our NZ Colonisation history and make this place into a Hawke's Bay top tourist attraction with a cafe in the prison garden -) I even suggest to keep all the tree stumps for wood carvings up that hillside for the tourists to look at. The Iwi can tell their and the prison/lighthouse/limestone mine story up there and sell merchandise etc. I would fully commercialise that prison with that lighthouse. Manukau Head Lighthouse replica in Auckland has 60,000 visitors annually and one has to drive out there from Auckland for two hours! I recon Napier would get 250,000 in the first year to see that lighthouse just walking up there from town! It is a no brainer but I am extremely bias:-)
A lighthouse would draw visitors up to the prison with views into the Port of Napier, over Marine Parade and Cape Kidnappers as well as town. It is time to look at this proposal at least. I think I have earned the respect to be seriously considered with this idea because I put 4 years of research into this unique Maritime Heritage. I suggested that this lighthouse replica must be included as part of the Treaty Settlement because I want this property viable and fixed up before this happens so this Maritime Heritage is protected and the Iwi has a good chance of being able to look after that heritage with the increased tourism. The trees have to be removed anyway and someone will have to pay for that, as well as getting the lower retaining limestone wall repaired. These huge costs for all these repairs just on the outside of this property will need to be met by the Iwi otherwise as well as the ongoing repair costs on the inside of this prison. On the end it is up to the Iwi to decide now to what happens to this unique Napier Maritime heritage. I am only here with my last ditch attempt to lobby LINZ and the Mana Ahuriri Trust to least consider this idea.
The house from where the picture below has been taken has a deck with a swimming pool. The original concrete foundations of the Napier Lighthouse are still evident under that swimming pool. I went in 2006 to measure and view the hexagon concrete foundations. Since then the house has been renovated and the pool is bigger so now you can no longer see the foundations.
Above another view from the original lighthouse site looking back at the sea or Marine Parade. The view now completely overgrown with trees to the right. The Bluff Hill Lighthouse was just standing right in the middle of that deck/swimming pool. Below a photo of the pool on top of the original hexagon foundations.
The lighthouse foundations still visible in the photo below on the left
Here one can see a drawing of the planned lighthouse site on the end of Lighthouse Road Reserve. This never happened, now there is the Bluff Hill Bowling Club.
Demolition report in Daily Telegraph with suggestion to move the lighthouse to new site on Bluff Hill.
The proposed move of the lighthouse to the Lighthouse Road Reserve (Now Bluff Hill Bowling Club)
Here one can see the new planned lighthouse reserve just on the left. Above one can see Geddie's House that collapsed during the 1931 earth quake. The house in front is still there (now a B&B) next to the Bluff Hill Bowling Club.
Here is the view of this old reserve today.
Arial view of the old Napier Prison and former lighthouse site (under swimming pool)
A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. This fake waterfall is a white elephant because it is waisting energy to create an artificial garden setting nobody ever uses. This mine is deserted even on weekends. I only ever see Council Gardeners (employed by Council) to look after this mine every year! For what? It does not make sense to spent all that money in the mine and the prison property across the road not getting any maintenance done. The true average yearly cost of maintaining and servicing the mine is $137,000 every year. The last 3 years $375,000 was spent in that mine on pool resurface maintenance. Ironically right now we have a $1 Million price tag for the prison wall to be fixed all along Marine Parade. And here I am looking for funding for a replica lighthouse which only cost $150,000. The Council basically spends this sort of money ($137,000) in the mine every year. No wonder there is no funding for anything else with this white elephant in this mine!
All trees along Marine Parade are already leaning towards the road and it is only a matter of time before the first tree will fall on the road. So at least ten pine trees need to be removed anyway to make sure that this does not happen.
The second problem is the state of the wall. Chris estimates that the retaining limestone wall has been compromised by as much as 50% and it will only get worse.
The pine trees are leaning over the footpath. All the drains under the wall have been blocked and the wall has become Water logged putting even more pressure on the wall excellerating further erosion.
The 150 year old walk to the Bluff Hill Lighthouse and Prison Site, now closed to the public.
Why was this walk closed, when will it reopen? What will happen with this walk and the site after the Ahuriri Treaty Settlement in a couple of years? My interest & goal is the protection of this walk, the complete removal of all the pine trees on that hill site and replanting of native trees as well as the restoration of this beautiful ancient walk to the old prison lighthouse site. We cannot allow for this walk to be closed and disappear like many other walks have in Napier over the years! This walk is special and all we have left from our Maritime history in Napier. At the moment LINZ is looking after the Government land but the prison building itself has been leased to a tourist operator. The Council looks after the old limestone mine and $137,000 ($2 Million the last 10 years) is being wasted every year on the labour, maintenance of the artificial garden setting and running/power of the fake waterfall in that mine. The Council has nothing to do with the maintenance of the wall, the gate or the trees, neither has the tourist operator that leases the prison. Unless all these entities start working together more closely, our Maritime Heritage in Napier will degrade further and further.
The old limestone wall in 1930, it looks very different 100 years later without any maintenance done at all over the last 100 years. Now we are looking at $1 Million repair cost
Late 1800 and one can see the original gate and the walk leading up to the Napier Lighthouse and Prison site
This is the 90 degree view from the corner where a replica would be put. The 90 degree view on the right hand side is also covered in trees so one can't see Cape Kidnappers unless all the trees on the prison property are removed. The prison would have the best views in town.
A pine forest on Marine Parade? It does not make sense! These trees need to be removed to get light and sun back on the corner of Marine Parade and Coote Road. I am calling on Heritage New Zealand and Historic Places Trust Aotearoa to do their job and start protecting this unique New Zealand Maritime Heritage!
That looks much better! It cost $180,000 to remove these trees. Sooner or later these trees have to be removed because they have reached the end of their natural lifespan. Some trees are already leaning across Marine Parade footpath and they are damaging the historic retaining limestone wall on Marine Parade. If the Treaty Settlement is concluded, the Iwi will have to pay for these trees to be removed sooner or later. It is LINZ job to get these trees removed, not the Iwi's job.
A improved track from Marine would simply reconnect back up to the old Napier Prison and lighthouse how it was 150 years ago. Visitors to Napier City would simply walk up that new track to the prison and lighthouse and get the best views all over Hawke's Bay. A small cafe in the prison gardens would create employment, an income and assure the long term maintenance of this prison. That is the only way of how this prison and Maritime Heritage can be saved. Any better ideas I am happy to concede with this project but so far I have not seen any other or better ideas of how this prison can be saved.
So far I have 100% support for this project from Maritime New Zealand, Stuart Nash, The Manukau Head Replica Trust and Toro Waka. Please support me because more support is needed. This prison is not a liability, it is an opportunity for Napier and the Mana Ahuriri Trust to show New Zealand how Heritage protection can work when Maori and the Grown work together to protect such Heritage.
The Corner of Coote Road and Marine Parade. The old Napier Prison on Marine Parade would have the best views in town if all these huge pine trees are removed. It is absurd to have a business on top of this hill but hiding away from sight. Most visitors to Napier never go to see this prison because nobody knows it is actually there. Hopefully Mana Ahuriri will prove us all wrong, run with the idea and take advantage of our NZ Colonisation history and make this place into a Hawke's Bay top tourist attraction with a cafe in the prison garden -) I even suggest to keep all the tree stumps for wood carvings up that hillside for the tourists to look at. The Iwi can tell their and the prison/lighthouse/limestone mine story up there and sell merchandise etc. I would fully commercialise that prison with that lighthouse. Manukau Head Lighthouse replica in Auckland has 60,000 visitors annually and one has to drive out there from Auckland for two hours! I recon Napier would get 250,000 in the first year to see that lighthouse just walking up there from town! It is a no brainer but I am extremely bias:-)
A lighthouse would draw visitors up to the prison with views into the Port of Napier, over Marine Parade and Cape Kidnappers as well as town. It is time to look at this proposal at least. I think I have earned the respect to be seriously considered with this idea because I put 4 years of research into this unique Maritime Heritage. I suggested that this lighthouse replica must be included as part of the Treaty Settlement because I want this property viable and fixed up before this happens so this Maritime Heritage is protected and the Iwi has a good chance of being able to look after that heritage with the increased tourism. The trees have to be removed anyway and someone will have to pay for that, as well as getting the lower retaining limestone wall repaired. These huge costs for all these repairs just on the outside of this property will need to be met by the Iwi otherwise as well as the ongoing repair costs on the inside of this prison. On the end it is up to the Iwi to decide now to what happens to this unique Napier Maritime heritage. I am only here with my last ditch attempt to lobby LINZ and the Mana Ahuriri Trust to least consider this idea.
The house from where the picture below has been taken has a deck with a swimming pool. The original concrete foundations of the Napier Lighthouse are still evident under that swimming pool. I went in 2006 to measure and view the hexagon concrete foundations. Since then the house has been renovated and the pool is bigger so now you can no longer see the foundations.
Above another view from the original lighthouse site looking back at the sea or Marine Parade. The view now completely overgrown with trees to the right. The Bluff Hill Lighthouse was just standing right in the middle of that deck/swimming pool. Below a photo of the pool on top of the original hexagon foundations.The lighthouse foundations still visible in the photo below on the left
Here one can see a drawing of the planned lighthouse site on the end of Lighthouse Road Reserve. This never happened, now there is the Bluff Hill Bowling Club.
Demolition report in Daily Telegraph with suggestion to move the lighthouse to new site on Bluff Hill.
The proposed move of the lighthouse to the Lighthouse Road Reserve (Now Bluff Hill Bowling Club)
Here one can see the new planned lighthouse reserve just on the left. Above one can see Geddie's House that collapsed during the 1931 earth quake. The house in front is still there (now a B&B) next to the Bluff Hill Bowling Club.
Here is the view of this old reserve today.
Arial view of the old Napier Prison and former lighthouse site (under swimming pool)
A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. This fake waterfall is a white elephant because it is waisting energy to create an artificial garden setting nobody ever uses. This mine is deserted even on weekends. I only ever see Council Gardeners (employed by Council) to look after this mine every year! For what? It does not make sense to spent all that money in the mine and the prison property across the road not getting any maintenance done. The true average yearly cost of maintaining and servicing the mine is $137,000 every year. The last 3 years $375,000 was spent in that mine on pool resurface maintenance. Ironically right now we have a $1 Million price tag for the prison wall to be fixed all along Marine Parade. And here I am looking for funding for a replica lighthouse which only cost $150,000. The Council basically spends this sort of money ($137,000) in the mine every year. No wonder there is no funding for anything else with this white elephant in this mine!
All trees along Marine Parade are already leaning towards the road and it is only a matter of time before the first tree will fall on the road. So at least ten pine trees need to be removed anyway to make sure that this does not happen.
The second problem is the state of the wall. Chris estimates that the retaining limestone wall has been compromised by as much as 50% and it will only get worse.
The pine trees are leaning over the footpath. All the drains under the wall have been blocked and the wall has become Water logged putting even more pressure on the wall excellerating further erosion.
The 150 year old walk to the Bluff Hill Lighthouse and Prison Site, now closed to the public.
Why was this walk closed, when will it reopen? What will happen with this walk and the site after the Ahuriri Treaty Settlement in a couple of years? My interest & goal is the protection of this walk, the complete removal of all the pine trees on that hill site and replanting of native trees as well as the restoration of this beautiful ancient walk to the old prison lighthouse site. We cannot allow for this walk to be closed and disappear like many other walks have in Napier over the years! This walk is special and all we have left from our Maritime history in Napier. At the moment LINZ is looking after the Government land but the prison building itself has been leased to a tourist operator. The Council looks after the old limestone mine and $137,000 ($2 Million the last 10 years) is being wasted every year on the labour, maintenance of the artificial garden setting and running/power of the fake waterfall in that mine. The Council has nothing to do with the maintenance of the wall, the gate or the trees, neither has the tourist operator that leases the prison. Unless all these entities start working together more closely, our Maritime Heritage in Napier will degrade further and further.
The old limestone wall in 1930, it looks very different 100 years later without any maintenance done at all over the last 100 years. Now we are looking at $1 Million repair cost
Late 1800 and one can see the original gate and the walk leading up to the Napier Lighthouse and Prison site
This is the 90 degree view from the corner where a replica would be put. The 90 degree view on the right hand side is also covered in trees so one can't see Cape Kidnappers unless all the trees on the prison property are removed. The prison would have the best views in town.