demolishingwgtn4

Fort Dorset

The first instances of demolition occurred at some point between 1959-1962, after the removal of the guns, a new road was cut over two of the 4-inch emplacements for unknown reasons. Further work was not carried out till late 1970. A request was lodged with the Ministry of Works for estimates of cost regarding removal of several old defence structures at Fort Dorset. Initially this included the main 6-inch battery, the Steeple Point 12-pdr Battery, two searchlight emplacements and one pillbox. Eventually this was expanded to include the rest of the searchlight emplacements and pillboxes. The estimates given for this work came to $11,500. It was intended to demolish and bury the rubble of the 6-inch battery on site. The other facilities marked for demolition faced a similar fate, either buried on site, or buried nearby. Demolition would have been carried out in late 1970, possibly early 1971.

Other Sites?

The only other AA emplacements to be investigated for demolition (at this time) were at Mt Crawford. It was considered a very low priority site. This was largely due to it being on Prison land, hence the public was not supposed to have access to the emplacements. The emplacements are also not in the view of the public, thus could not be seen as a major eyesore. Ultimately nothing was done about the site, and it was left as it is now.

There were only two other areas that gained some attention. The Beacon Hill Command Post and the gun emplacement at Kau Point. In the case of Beacon Hill, it was deemed not to be dangerous and was thus largely left alone. In the case of Kau Point, it was seen to be highly dangerous and meriting immediate action. However, the furthest extent of the work required for making it safe was seen to be just filing in the emplacement and the tunnel entrance. This was carried out by July 1970.

Epilogue

With the demolition work at Fort Dorset complete by 1971, the final piece of work had been carried out under a demolition program that began in late 1969. With it had gone a large chunk of Wellington�s coastal defence history. How much of what remains is able to be salvaged is difficult to tell. For instance, it is possible that the 6-inch magazine (and perhaps even parts of the emplacements) at Fort Dorset remain. That is perhaps a long shot, but it is something only a dig of some description could confirm, or possibly find someone who was actually involved in the demolition work. The magazine of gun pit #1 at Palmer Head was a major tunnelled underground work and is almost certain to have survived. However, it will not come to light again with out major earthworks. Perhaps the most ironic thing about the demolition program is that barely six years later the council undertook some initial inquires to track down historical defence sites.