Dunedin Courthouse —Cabinet backs #restoration for courts use

A considerable weight lifted….

### Stuff.co.nz Last updated 17:44, December 7 2015
Dunedin’s historic courthouse to be saved
Dunedin’s historic courthouse will be strengthened and restored at a cost of $15 million […] Strengthening work was expected to take two years, and the city’s temporary court in High St would continue to be used in the interim. It was hoped a main contractor would be appointed later in 2016, following a tendering process, [Ms] Adams said.
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“The Dunedin courthouse is one of New Zealand’s most notable historic buildings and Cabinet’s decision reflects its significance, both as a part of the city’s rich cultural heritage and its importance to the region’s legal fraternity.” –Minister Amy Adams

### ODT Online Mon, 7 Dec 2015
Full restoration for Dunedin courthouse
By Craig Borley
Dunedin’s historic courthouse will be saved, strengthened, restored and have all its court service returned to it. The decision was made in today’s final Cabinet meeting of the year. Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams announced the outcome just after 4pm. […] The decision means a “more than $15 million” overhaul of the Stuart St complex, bringing it up to between 60% and 70% of new building standard, as well as “provision the buildings to operate as modern court facilities”.
Read more

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Full Statement —Minister

Amy Adams

7 December, 2015

Dunedin’s historic courthouse to be restored

Courts Minister Amy Adams today announced that Cabinet has agreed to the strengthening and restoration of Dunedin’s historic courthouse.

“The Dunedin courthouse is one of New Zealand’s most notable historic buildings and Cabinet’s decision reflects its significance, both as a part of the city’s rich cultural heritage and its importance to the region’s legal fraternity,” Ms Adams says.

“From the beginning, I’ve maintained that it’s been my intention, expectation and desire to see court services returned to Dunedin’s historic courthouse and this decision delivers on that commitment.”

The project includes earthquake strengthening and restoration, as well as the cost of provision the buildings to operate as modern court facilities. The project is estimated to cost more than $15 million and this will include seeing the building strengthened to between 60 and 70 per cent of the National Building Standard.

“The strengthening project is anticipated to take two years to complete and the Ministry of Justice will continue to deliver quality services from the temporary court in High St in the interim,” Ms Adams says.

Ministry of Justice will call for tenders in the first half of next year and it was hoped a main contractor would be appointed later in 2016.

Ms Adams says the costings in the business case had been comprehensively investigated and peer reviewed by a number of independent specialist engineers, and costed by quantity surveyors, before being subjected to a robust review by The Treasury.

“The investigations showed that as a category one heritage building, strengthening the court house is a complex project and requires a significant capital investment.

“I acknowledge the deep support locals have shown for the historic courthouse throughout this process.”

The facility in Stuart St was closed in 2011 after engineers found that parts of the building fell well short of the minimum 34 percent rating required under the National Building Standard. A temporary facility has been established at High St to ensure court services could continue to be delivered to the people of Dunedin and Otago in the interim.

With Cabinet’s decision, managing the restoration process now becomes an operational matter for the Ministry of Justice.

http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/dunedin%E2%80%99s-historic-courthouse-be-restored

Related Posts and Comments:
22.9.125 Dunedin Law Courts | ODT editorial
7.9.15 Public petition to save Courthouse for courts use
11.7.15 Dunedin Law Courts “an incredible historic building” –Minister
14.5.15 Russell Lund on Ministry closure of Dunedin Law Courts
14.5.15 Justice at Dunedin
2.5.15 Ministry serves INJUSTICE for Dunedin Courthouse #HistoricHeritage

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Images: (top) Justice, Dunedin Law Courts (detail) by Elizabeth Kerr; radionz.co.nz – Amy Adams, tweaked by whatifdunedin

Dunedin Law Courts | ODT editorial

The Dunedin courthouse is one of the city’s finest historic buildings, and part of a heritage cluster impossible to match anywhere in this country.

We await an “unequivocal commitment” from the Government to return court services to their Dunedin home.

### ODT Online Tue, 22 Sep 2015
Editorial: ‘Nonsense’ courthouse costs
OPINION Really? Would earthquake strengthening of Dunedin’s courthouse really cost more than $15million as officials claim? Or is this another example where supposed post-earthquake costs are used as an excuse? Or can the Government simply not design and commission building work for reasonable prices? There is probably a bit of both.
Read more

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Dunedin structural engineer Stephen Macknight called the Government’s $15million strengthening figure “absolutely ridiculous”.

Director of Dunedin construction company Lund South, Russell Lund, said his experience suggested the $15million figure was “just not even credible”.

### ODT Online Sat, 19 Sep 2015
$15m bill for court rejected
By Craig Borley
Dunedin engineers and construction experts have rubbished the Government’s claims the city’s historic courthouse needs earthquake strengthening work worth more than $15 million. […] Lou Robinson, director of Hadley Robinson Engineering, said he knew the courthouse intimately after being involved in the 2002 work on the complex. He estimated an “upper limit on strengthening of perhaps $3 million”.
Read more

█ Website:
http://www.saveourcourthouse.nz

█ Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/SaveOurCourthouse

█ Petition to Justice Minister Amy Adams:
http://bit.ly/1FlZIWy (via Avaaz platform)

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Related Posts and Comments:
7.9.15 Public petition to save Courthouse for courts use
11.7.15 Dunedin Law Courts “an incredible historic building” –Minister
14.5.15 Russell Lund on Ministry closure of Dunedin Law Courts
14.5.15 Justice at Dunedin
2.5.15 Ministry serves INJUSTICE for Dunedin Courthouse #HistoricHeritage

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Post and image (2015) by Elizabeth Kerr

Dunedin Prison: Community Trust grant for restoration

39 Dunedin Television Published on Sep 17, 2015
Historic prison restoration gets kickstart

● Resource consent granted for conservation and repair
● Funding from Otago Community Trust
● New visitor centre
● Prison tours
● Restaurant for courtyard

### dunedintv.co.nz Thu, 17 Sep 2015
Historic prison restoration gets kickstart
A $90,000 grant is kickstarting the project to restore Dunedin’s historic prison to its former glory. The money will enable the Dunedin Prison Charitable Trust to start exterior repairs. And that means members are finally able to turn their vision into reality.
Ch39 Link

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[click to enlarge]DCC Webmap – 2 Castle Street, former Dunedin Prison [Jan/Feb 2013]

█ Dunedin Prison Charitable Trust

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Related Posts and Comments:
16.9.15 DPAG exhibition talk, Sun 20 Sep —Jonathan Howard on Dunedin 1865
7.9.15 Public petition to save Courthouse for courts use
30.8.15 DPAG exhibition | Dunedin 1865: A City Rises…
23.8.15 1865 Dunedin —Heritage Festival 2015 ‘The Open City’ … 29 Aug
23.8.15 1865 Dunedin —Heritage Festival 2015 Shoreline Trail launch
11.7.15 Dunedin Law Courts “an incredible historic building” –Minister
14.5.15 Russell Lund on Ministry closure of Dunedin Law Courts
14.5.15 Justice at Dunedin
2.5.15 Ministry serves INJUSTICE for Dunedin Courthouse #HistoricHeritage
28.2.13 Tour the old prison in March (2013)
20.9.12 Dunedin Prison
6.6.12 Dunedin Prison purchased by trust
18.10.11 Dunedin Prison Charitable Trust

█ For more, enter the term *heritage* in the search box at right.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Public petition to save Courthouse for courts use

### ODT Online Mon, 7 Sep 2015
Using online petition to save courthouse
By Eileen Goodwin
An online petition is the latest strategy of the Dunedin City Council backed group trying to pressure the Government to restore the historic Dunedin courthouse. Set up by Dunedin city councillor Aaron Hawkins, a member of the Dunedin Courthouse Task Force, it had more than 220 signatures last night. The courthouse is in limbo as it lies vacant with no plan yet for its future.
Read more

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█ Website:
http://www.saveourcourthouse.nz

█ Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/SaveOurCourthouse

█ Petition to Justice Minister Amy Adams:
http://bit.ly/1FlZIWy (via Avaaz platform)

SAVE OUR COURTHOUSE

Dunedin’s Courthouse building has been the seat of justice in Dunedin since it was built in 1901. Following extensive renovation and restoration by the government in 2002, in 2011 it was declared an earthquake risk, and progressively mothballed.
There have been questions raised by reports detailing the further work that needs doing, and what it will cost, that remain unanswered. In the meantime, $6.8m has been spent fitting out temporary courts in an office building on High St, at an ongoing cost of $600,000 a year.
We’re calling on Justice Minister Amy Adams – and other Ministers who have a responsibility to the court – to commit to a timeframe for the return of the courts to their home on Lower Stuart St.
Read more

Related Posts and Comments:
11.7.15 Dunedin Law Courts “an incredible historic building” –Minister
14.5.15 Russell Lund on Ministry closure of Dunedin Law Courts
14.5.15 Justice at Dunedin
2.5.15 Ministry serves INJUSTICE for Dunedin Courthouse #HistoricHeritage

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Dunedin Law Courts “an incredible historic building” –Minister

A courthouse needed to show everyone involved in a court sitting had their place. Dunedin’s historic courthouse did that. –Professor Mark Henaghan

Justice Minister Amy Adams said in a statement last night her desire, intention and expectation was “that we want to see the historic courthouse building strengthened and returned to, and that hasn’t changed”.

### ODT Online Sat, 11 Jul 2015
Law alumni plead courthouse case [front page news]
By Craig Borley
Otago law alumni have spoken out from around the world, calling on the Government to do what needs to be done to save and return full court services to Dunedin’s historic courthouse. The calls came after University of Otago faculty of law dean Prof Mark Henaghan wrote to the law school’s alumni, detailing the building’s plight.
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### ODT Online Sat, 11 Jul 2015
Courthouse call-out false alarm
By Damian George
Police and fire service were called to a false alarm at the Dunedin District Court building this morning after a sprinkler was tampered with. Senior sergeant Steve Larking, of Dunedin, said someone inside the High St building damaged the sprinkler, causing it to activate.
Read more

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Related Posts and Comments:
14.5.15 Russell Lund on Ministry closure of Dunedin Law Courts
14.5.15 Justice at Dunedin
2.5.15 Ministry serves INJUSTICE for Dunedin Courthouse #HistoricHeritage

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Image: Dunedin Law Courts, east facade (detail) –Kerr
May 13, 2015

Russell Lund on Ministry closure of Dunedin Law Courts

Owner of Lund South, Russell Lund, is suspicious of the Ministry of Justice’s intention for Dunedin’s historic courthouse. (ODT)

The Opinion was published at Otago Daily Times today with the headline ‘Budgets blind to community benefit’ –here unabridged.

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Your editorial last weekend (ODT 9.5.15) regarding the fate of the courthouse and your suspicion of the Ministry of Justice’s true agenda is sadly, prescient.

It is extremely unlikely that there is any will by the ministry at all to strengthen and retain the courthouse.

Lund South completed the restoration of the main courthouse in 2002. During that project we were party to candid discussions about the history of the courthouse restoration project and how it very nearly did not happen. The attitude of the courts even back then was that they weren’t getting any extra funding for restoration of the courthouse. They viewed the historical and heritage significance of the building as someone else’s problem. The courts had negotiations with the owners of an office building in the CBD, and very nearly signed a lease to put the courts there. It was only due to the hectoring of certain persons in the design team and a sympathetic official within the department that saw the project proceed, albeit very reluctantly, and with ongoing demands throughout the project to cut costs.

Of course the pressures on all government spending in the current Joycean environment are far worse than those benign days of the early 2000s. About $11 million was spent on renovation and extension of the courthouse in a project completed in 2003.

The department has now spent or will spend more than $6 million on a temporary facility, not the $3 million you noted in your editorial. That suggests that this is not a temporary fix.

We can be sure about this because we were also involved in the construction of the temporary courts in the old BNZ building in 2001.

That temporary facility that served very satisfactorily (apart from an issue with insufficient acoustic separation in the jury room that was easily fixed) and cost about 10%, just one 10th of the current expenditure on the new temporary facility.

The strategy employed by the department is quite obvious. They have commissioned a national engineering consultancy that is not known for creative or economic solutions. The firm is also well known for being unreceptive to alternative design proposals, their attitude being, “this is our project, we are going to do it our way”. Another government department had to threaten to sack them from a $30 million project in 2013 when they refused to consider an alternative structural proposal that ended up saving the department several million dollars.

Local engineers familiar with the building are convinced the scope and the cost of the work required would be dramatically less than the current proposal.

We have seen this scenario play out in the case of the Oamaru courthouse, where an alternative proposal at an estimated cost of one-third of the courts engineers’ estimate still was not enough to convince the courts to stay in the building.

Dunedin residents might well ask why this is? Surely, if the building can be strengthened at reasonable cost it is worth doing?

The answer is that this department, like others, simply sees old buildings as a money pit for ongoing repairs and maintenance and its budgets are blind to the wider benefits to the community of retaining heritage.

Russell Lund
Macandrew Bay

ODT Link

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Related Posts and Comments:
11.7.15 Dunedin Law Courts “an incredible historic building” –Minister
14.5.15 Justice at Dunedin
2.5.15 Ministry serves INJUSTICE for Dunedin Courthouse #HistoricHeritage

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Image: Railway Station & Dunedin Law Courts –Kerr
May 13, 2015

Justice at Dunedin

Dunedin Law Courts 13 May 2015

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Related Posts and Comments:
11.7.15 Dunedin Law Courts “an incredible historic building” –Minister
14.5.15 Russell Lund on Ministry closure of Dunedin Law Courts
2.5.15 Ministry serves INJUSTICE for Dunedin Courthouse #HistoricHeritage

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Photograph by Elizabeth Kerr

Ministry serves INJUSTICE for Dunedin Courthouse #HistoricHeritage

In March last year, Justice said it was about to announce the successful contractor for the project, but that did not happen. (ODT)

### ODT Online Sat, 2 May 2015
$600k spent on courthouse, no work done
By Eileen Goodwin
The Ministry of Justice is staying tight-lipped about a change of plan over earthquake-strengthening the Stuart St courthouse in Dunedin, after spending more than $600,000 on its design. This week, the ministry announced the indefinite closure of the historic courthouse, which has been partially closed since December 2011. Court staff and most hearings will be based in the temporary courthouse in High St from May 18.
Read more

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Ministry press release says all court staff will move to the Temporary Courthouse in High St, and the Stuart St court will be closed from May 18 until further notice.

### ODT Online Fri, 1 May 2015
Temporary court too small: lawyer
By Eileen Goodwin
The Stuart St court building in Dunedin will be closed until further notice, and a Dunedin lawyer [Anne Stevens] has blasted the Ministry of Justice for years of inaction over planned earthquake strengthening. […] The Stuart St building partially closed in December 2011, but continued to house the Dunedin District Court and a range of court services and staff. The ministry has spent more than $6 million fitting out the High St building as a temporary facility, and it has been used for jury trials and other proceedings for some time.
Read more

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BACK STORIES – DUNEDIN COURTHOUSE

### ODT Online Fri, 10 May 2013
Dunedin court upgrade approved
By Rosie Manins
The Ministry of Justice will spend millions upgrading Dunedin’s historic courthouse, much to the delight of the city’s legal fraternity. “We are delighted,” New Zealand Law Society Otago branch president Associate Prof Donna Buckingham said yesterday. “This building represents the roots of the legal profession in Dunedin and many lawyers have spoken to me in the past 18 months about their strong attachment to it,” she said.
Read more

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### beehive.govt.nz 31 January, 2003
Speeches: Margaret Wilson
Opening of refurbished Dunedin Courthouse
Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa […] It is my privilege today to formally open this wonderfully refurbished building, which has been so important to the development of the law in New Zealand, and is the focus of so much interest for the people of Dunedin.
History of building
When Acting Premier Sir Joseph Ward opened this Courthouse just over 100 years ago, in June 1902, he described it as “the finest in the colony”. The Courthouse was, and remains, a showcase for local stone and the skill of its builders. However, the statue of Justice – which is directly above me – was imported from Italy. As Mayor Turner pointed out, the statue does not have a blindfold – the usual way the impartial processes of justice are portrayed. Although I am attracted to the Mayor’s explanation, I like to think of this omission as symbolising the farsighted vision of the pioneering women who took up the law in this city and set the stage for those of us who have followed.
While it has always been hailed as one of finest examples of Victorian Gothic architecture in New Zealand, this building became woefully inadequate as the century progressed. There was far too little space, the lighting, ventilation and heating systems were antiquated, and there were doubts about the safety of the structure in an earthquake. Then seven years ago, as we have heard, the sword fell from the presiding statue of Justice – perhaps she was trying to tell us something!
Courts rebuilding programme
The renovation and extension of this historic courthouse represents a significant capital investment – about $11 million in total. The work is part of a major building programme being undertaken by the Department for Courts. It is an investment that – as anyone involved will tell you, not just here but around the country – has been a long time coming.
Read more

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Dunedin Law Courts
1 Stuart Street, Dunedin

Heritage New Zealand | Category I Historic Place – List No: 4374

Notable Features:
Its size and grandeur as a gothic building and its unmodified state.

Architect: John Campbell, Government Architect
Although John Campbell (1857-1942) designed the Dunedin Law Courts (1899-1902) in the Gothic style with a Scottish Baronial inflection, he established Edwardian Baroque as the government style for police stations, courthouses and post offices throughout New Zealand.
John Campbell served his articles under John Gordon (c1835-1912) in Glasgow. He arrived in Dunedin in 1882 and after a brief period as a draughtsman with Mason and Wales joined the Dunedin branch of the Public Works Department in 1883. His first known work, an unbuilt design for the Dunedin Railway Station, reveals an early interest in Baroque architecture. In November 1888 Campbell was transferred to Wellington where in 1889 he took up the position of draughtsman in charge of the Public Buildings Division of the Public Works Department. He remained in charge of the design of government buildings throughout New Zealand until his retirement in 1922, becoming in 1909 the first person to hold the position of Government Architect. Government architecture designed under his aegis evidences a change in style from Queen Anne to Edwardian Baroque. His best-known Queen Anne design is the Dunedin Police Station (1895-8), modelled on Richard Norman Shaw’s New Scotland Yard (1887-90). Among his most exuberant Edwardian Baroque buildings is the Public Trust Office, Wellington (1905-09). […] In 1911 Campbell won the nation-wide architectural competition for the design of Parliament Buildings, Wellington. Although only partially completed, Parliament House is the crowning achievement of Campbell’s career.

Construction Details:
The walls are built of Port Chalmers breccia with Oamaru stone window framing, parapets and pinnacles. (It is somewhat unusual for a Dunedin building to be completed in breccia rather than Leith Valley andesite with breccia foundations.) The roof is slate. The marble figure of Justice over the Stuart Street door in Italian and is not blindfolded. The High Court is lavishly gothic, with Rimu emblems and mouldings and with fine cast iron work fronting the jury and press seats and the witness stand. The major doors have gothic arches and the main staircase has a handsome cast iron balustrade. The Law Library still retains its fine built-in bookcases and heavy oak furniture.
An earlier law courts building existed to the east of the present site which was originally occupied by the Dunedin gaol. Later the courts moved to the Provincial Council building in the Exchange. Probably it was the availability of this latter building which delayed the erecting of the purpose-built home for the courts to as late as 1900.

Architectural Significance:
This is a late major gothic building for Dunedin. Only the University buildings around the archway are later in this category of building. It is reasonably pure in its styling, lacking the hybridisation with the classical apparent in some other buildings of this period.

Townscape/Landmark Significance:
The Law Courts form part of the impressive Castle Street precinct which includes the Florentine Railway Station across the road, the Central Police Station and the Otago Early Settlers building.

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Related Posts and Comments:
11.7.15 Dunedin Law Courts “an incredible historic building” –Minister
14.5.15 Russell Lund on Ministry closure of Dunedin Law Courts
14.5.15 Justice at Dunedin

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Images: Dunedin Courthouse – Justice (2012) via Heritage New Zealand (Photo: Phil Braithwaite); Dunedin Courthouse (2007) via Heritage New Zealand (Photo: Joan Colley)

Dunedin Prison purchased by trust

### ODT Online Wed, 6 Jun 2012
Trust to develop Dunedin prison
By Hamish McNeilly
Ambitious plans for the 116-year-old Dunedin Prison have been locked down, with confirmation the historic property has been sold to a trust intent on transforming it into a tourist attraction. The Dunedin Prison Charitable Trust has bought the property for an undisclosed sum, after Ngai Tahu deferred its first right of refusal to buy the surplus Crown property.

It was envisioned the first stage could be completed by the end of next year to capitalise on the cruise-ship market, and the prison’s location between the Dunedin Railway Station and the upgraded Otago Settlers Museum.

Trust chairman Stewart Harvey said the sale was the culmination of a year of discussions between both parties, and the trust was “extremely grateful to Ngai Tahu for their generosity and co-operation”. The trust was now able to begin fundraising for the estimated $2.6 million needed for the first stage of the prison redevelopment; with the ground floor likely to include a cafe, office areas, function areas and a “prison experience” tour.
Read more

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About Dunedin Prison
[Source: New Zealand Historic Places Trust]
Plans for the new Dunedin Prison were completed in 1892 by John Campbell (1857-1942), Government Architect. Modelled on New Scotland Yard, the prison was designed in a Queen Anne style including cupola domes, dormers, striped brick and Oamaru stone elevations, and fine detailing. The layout consisted of four blocks surrounding a central courtyard. Construction was delayed as the Dunedin community felt the central site could be better utilised. Work finally began, however, in 1895. The exterior was finished by April 1897 and on 16 June 1898 the prison was occupied.
● Summary
● Full registration report

Hocken Snapshot: Dunedin Prison (rendering)

Related Post:
18.10.11 Dunedin Prison Charitable Trust

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Besides a stadium development for Dunedin! More harping.

Dunedin’s “heritage tourism” future…

What if? has a recent thread The Chronicals of Yarnia (formerly known as “What else! Future options for Dunedin include…”), a temporary hold-all for ideas that with exploration could benefit Dunedin’s liveability for future generations.

Yarnia is a deliberately “loose” thread. The name change resulted from the thread’s capture by writers revisiting stadium and council politics about which they feel deeply. This was NOT talking up Dunedin’s potential, however. Other writers responded in the intended spirit of the thread, for this (sigh) we warmly thank them.

When a topical item like the “prison one” below comes up by media or other avenue, we like to give the people involved front billing at What if?. Similarly, in future, we will highlight the suggestions, knowledge and expertise, for example, of people like David and Phil who regularly post at What if?. If you read the Yarnia posts, you’ll quickly understand why.

Envisioning complementary components of Dunedin’s future – our shared business future – will always be more valuable economically and culturally than becoming subservient to the burdens (real or fictional) of the stadium project, an ad hoc project for which a community consensus never happened. The stadium has arisen due to powerful political dealings, and leanings.

The stadium is a rather small and probably unsustainable component of what Dunedin means to residents and visitors, if the community would agree some projects that add to the cultural depth and understanding of our place.
(well OK maybe the stadium does some of this…)

As the historic phenomenon Dunedin truly is – the heritage component of the city has been uncoordinated as a planning strategy for generating “wealth”. It hasn’t been ideationally explored or positively exploited to express our contemporary selves. How did we miss that obvious track?!

Concrete strategy, coordination and excellence are sorely needed, from entrepreneurial people who passionately love Dunedin for its heritage potential, like nowhere else.

The last three words are heavily inscribed with meaning.

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Local resident and retired chartered accountant Stewart Harvey has been interested in the fate of the old Dunedin Prison for many years.

### ODT Online Thu, 3 Dec 2009
Opinion: Unlocking old jail’s potential
By Stewart Harvey
Stewart Harvey argues that the Dunedin Prison is too precious to be simply turned into another backpackers or restaurant. Instead, he suggests, it could become a heritage tourist attraction.
Read more

I absolutely support Stewart’s views about the way forward for the prison building’s future. Further, I would expand on these to comprehensively “read” the cultural and economic significance and business potential of not only the immediate heritage precinct, but also the CBD area as a whole.

This will be explored in future posts, and by transferral eventually to the new duned.in website blog Paul is templating now (it’s true, good things take longer).

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Back to the old prison.
Some prominent heritage persons in town have continually “missed the bus” in describing (unresearched) options for the historic building’s future use – including visitor Neil Cossons – by thinking that more intrusive adaptive reuse is the way to ensure its business viability.

I’m a great supporter of adaptive reuse, but NOT for Dunedin’s old prison. The building has more value to the regional economy if its internal fabric is retained largely as is – we need to maintain the original fabric and partitions, and adapt our human behaviour and activities within it to fit, to create the viable business footing.

The parties quietly calling for irreversible upheaval of its interior (they wouldn’t put it like this; it would be the cumulative effect), such as the Southern Heritage Trust, are approaching the building’s future use wrongly in terms of watering down its potential impacts. These “impacts” are the building’s selling points (deliberately not defined here).

Stewart Harvey is a man of foresight, visitation and research. His idea to link what could happen at the prison to what may at the Dunedin Courthouse – in explaining the region’s legal and criminal history, including the insuperable ties to the Faculty of Law at University of Otago – provides very rich pickings indeed.

A few years ago, as NZHPT Otago branch chair, I was consulting alongside NZHPT staff on the redevelopment of the Dunedin Courthouse. Aside from site meetings about building redevelopment matters, we met several times with Courts Manager Maria Bradshaw to discuss the setting up of a Friends of Dunedin Courthouse organisation, at her behest. The Friends role, in conjunction with Courts officials, would oversee the building’s future public visitor, fundraising and events potential, to assist projects providing on-site explanation, exhibition, enactment and interpretation of the history and persons associated with the Dunedin courts. Sadly, the Friends idea lost momentum following the Court Manager’s relocation to Auckland.

As Stewart implies, it’s time to organise an interested body of people with historical knowledge and business expertise, that can decide the future of the prison building.

And yes, I will push the notion further by saying we should “straightaway” be looking at the prison and the courthouse buildings combined as a sound heritage tourism destination within the immediate heritage precinct…discovering a purpose that fits comfortably alongside schedules imposed by the courts’ routine workday operations.

Post by Elizabeth Kerr