Albert Park tunnels: Difference between revisions
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The '''Albert Park tunnels''' are found largely beneath [[Albert Park, Auckland|Albert Park]], in central [[Auckland]], [[New Zealand]]. The tunnels were constructed as [[air raid shelter]]s during the [[World War II|Second World War]]. At the conclusion of the war they were sealed to prevent vandalism or misuse by the public, and as a protection against [[carbon dioxide]] build-up or tunnel collapse. |
The '''Albert Park tunnels''' are found largely beneath [[Albert Park, Auckland|Albert Park]], in central [[Auckland]], [[New Zealand]]. The tunnels were constructed as [[air raid shelter]]s during the [[World War II|Second World War]]. At the conclusion of the war they were sealed to prevent vandalism or misuse by the public, and as a protection against [[carbon dioxide]] build-up or tunnel collapse. |
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==Conception == |
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[[New Zealand in World War II|New Zealand's involvement in the war]] had begun in 1939, and with [[Axis naval activity in New Zealand waters|Axis naval activity]] occuring in New Zealand waters, domestic defence plans were necessary, with much capital being invested. Matters became urgent with the entry of [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] into the war in 1941. A number of [[Coastal fortifications of New Zealand|coastal defences]] were already in place throughout the country, with a concentration in Auckland, and |
[[New Zealand in World War II|New Zealand's involvement in the war]] had begun in 1939, and with [[Axis naval activity in New Zealand waters|Axis naval activity]] occuring in New Zealand waters, domestic defence plans were necessary, with much capital being invested. Matters became urgent with the entry of [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] into the war in 1941. A number of [[Coastal fortifications of New Zealand|coastal defences]] were already in place throughout the country, with a concentration in Auckland, and [[Auckland City Council]] 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.<ref name="T511">Taylor, p. 511</ref> Additional shelters were created in basements and old existing tunnels.<ref name="T517"/> |
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Auckland city centre had a daytime population of 78,000, but by April 1942 shelter capacity was only 20,000.<ref name="T517">Taylor, p. 517</ref> Furthermore, experience in Britain during [[the Blitz]] indicated that deep shelters provided greater protection.<ref name="T517"/> Albert Park, a communal facility built in the 1880s on the site of a 1840s army barracks,<ref>Clough, Rod (PhD); ''Albert Park Conservation/Management Plan: Archaeological Assessment'', Clough & Associates, Auckland, 1996</ref> in the centre of the city was chosen as the site for a major construction, and in 1942 a large complex of tunnels and shelters was established under the park,<ref>[http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/whatson/places/parks/albertpark.asp Auckland City Council: Albert Park]</ref> capable of sheltering 20,400 people.<ref name="Walks"/> |
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===Post-war history=== |
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| ⚫ | After the war, the tunnels were filled in with unfired clay bricks, the entrances buried and the air shafts and other shafts in-filled. 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 separate groups: a businessman seeking to open it as a tourism venture, and a group of architecture students with their lecturer who considered the tunnels might offer a solution to Auckland’s traffic problems.<ref>[http://local.wasp.uwa.edu.au/~pbourke/other/albert/journey.html Exploration by the Intrepid Binary Brothers]</ref>. 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 [[tourist attraction]].<ref name="SCENE">[http://local.wasp.uwa.edu.au/~pbourke/other/albert/press.html "Albert Park Tunnels Agreement Signed", SCENE, March 4,1996]</ref> Related legislation was passed in 2001.<ref>[http://www.beehive.govt.nz/node/12024 New Zealand Government Website] "Access to Albert Park tunnels included in new legislation", 9 October 2001 |
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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. With planned shifts running twenty-four hours, the work was expected to take four to six months.<ref name="T517"/> Work began in February, and the digging was completed in August.<ref name="T518">Taylor, p. 518</ref> Carpentry and plumbing, at additional cost, was added over the following two months.<ref name="T518"/> |
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| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | Blocked entrances can be seen at the top of Victoria Street – hidden by a decorative wall – and the steel door present at the foot of Constitution Hill.<ref name="Walks"/> Three other blocked entrances are located behind the Park's Gateway sculpture.<ref>[http://albertpark.aotearoacam.com/ Aoteroa Cam: Albert Park]</ref> |
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==Construction and structure== |
==Construction and structure== |
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{{see also|Air raid shelter}} |
{{see also|Air raid shelter}} |
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There are more than 3.5 kilometres of tunnels,<ref name="Roots">[http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nzlauckl/htunnel.html Auckland GenWb: Albert Park Tunnels]</ref> reaching from Constitution Hill to Wellesley Street, involving a network of shelters and first aid posts, all ventilated by air shafts |
There are more than 3.5 kilometres of tunnels,<ref name="Roots">[http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nzlauckl/htunnel.html Auckland GenWb: Albert Park Tunnels]</ref> reaching from Constitution Hill to Wellesley Street, involving a network of shelters, sanitation facilities and first aid posts, all ventilated by air shafts,<ref name="SCENE"/> with a total of none entrances.<ref name="T518"/> The tunnels run through sandstone and volcanic rock, and were mainly dug by hand by council workers, and were lined with timber.<ref name="Walks">[http://www.hotcity.co.nz/downloads/hwengineering.pdf "Heritage Walks: The Engineering Heritage of Auckland"] by Elizabeth Aitken Rose and the Auckland Engineering Heritage Committee of IPENZ. ISBN 0-908960-46-8</ref> Approximately 300 men worked on the tunnels.<ref name="T518"/> |
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There are a number of peculiarities found in the Albert Park Tunnels that are not found in other sites which add to the architectural value of the site.{{Fact|date=July 2008}} These include ‘[[baffles]]’, and the continuous air system. |
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The central, arched access tunnels were 9ft high, 15 ft, wide, and 3700 ft long; the grid of accommodation galleries – totalling 6000 ft – were 7 ft square and provided with wooden seating.<ref name="T518"/> The floors were covered with scoria.<ref name="T518"/> |
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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 reduced the shock with the perpendicular reflections. |
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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 reduced the shock with the perpendicular reflections.{{fact}} In 1941, baffles had been added to the twenty-year-old Parnell tunnel.<ref name="T511"/> |
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The tunnels also feature a continuous air system. The tunnels were designed with no dips in altitude or dead ends where pockets of ‘dead air’ could build up, which would prove fatal for anyone caught in one. By keeping the tunnels ‘continuous’ and with six diesel air pumps fresh air would have been maintained without much effort and optimal survival inside would have been assured. |
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A diesel engine from an old meatworks powered the ventailation fans and emergency lighting,<ref name="T518"/> as well as a loud-speaker system.<ref name="Walks"/> |
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<gallery> |
<gallery> |
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</gallery> |
</gallery> |
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== |
==Post-war history== |
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| ⚫ | After the war, the tunnels were filled in with unfired clay bricks, the entrances buried and the air shafts and other shafts in-filled. 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 separate groups: a businessman seeking to open it as a tourism venture, and a group of architecture students with their lecturer who considered the tunnels might offer a solution to Auckland’s traffic problems.<ref>[http://local.wasp.uwa.edu.au/~pbourke/other/albert/journey.html Exploration by the Intrepid Binary Brothers]</ref>. 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 [[tourist attraction]].<ref name="SCENE">[http://local.wasp.uwa.edu.au/~pbourke/other/albert/press.html "Albert Park Tunnels Agreement Signed", SCENE, March 4,1996]</ref> Related legislation was passed in 2001.<ref>[http://www.beehive.govt.nz/node/12024 New Zealand Government Website] "Access to Albert Park tunnels included in new legislation", 9 October 2001 |
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| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | Blocked entrances can be seen at the top of Victoria Street – hidden by a decorative wall – and the steel door present at the foot of Constitution Hill.<ref name="Walks"/> Three other blocked entrances are located behind the Park's Gateway sculpture.<ref>[http://albertpark.aotearoacam.com/ Aoteroa Cam: Albert Park]</ref> |
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==Notes== |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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==References== |
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===Reports=== |
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* [http://local.wasp.uwa.edu.au/~pbourke/other/albert/heritage1.pdf Pilkington, Scott 2007: 'Investigation into Heritage Management - Albert Park Air Raid Shelters Case Study', Unpublished report prepared for University of Auckland] |
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===Published Papers=== |
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* Taylor, Nancy M. (1986), ''The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–1945, Volume I: The Home Front'', Wellington: Historical Publications Branch, [http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2-1Hom-c12.html online] |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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* [http://archaeopedia.com/wiki/index.php/Albert_park_tunnels Archaepedia's entry for the tunnel system] |
* [http://archaeopedia.com/wiki/index.php/Albert_park_tunnels Archaepedia's entry for the tunnel system] |
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* [http://maps.google.co.nz/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=-36.850557,174.768738&spn=0.006207,0.009356&t=k&z=17 Google Maps image of Albert Park]<!-- coor tends to give a zoomed out view, so I will let you have this as well --> |
* [http://maps.google.co.nz/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=-36.850557,174.768738&spn=0.006207,0.009356&t=k&z=17 Google Maps image of Albert Park]<!-- coor tends to give a zoomed out view, so I will let you have this as well --> |
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Revision as of 01:57, 9 July 2008
The Albert Park tunnels are found largely beneath Albert Park, in central Auckland, New Zealand. The tunnels were constructed as air raid shelters during the Second World War. At the conclusion of the war they were sealed to prevent vandalism or misuse by the public, and as a protection against carbon dioxide build-up or tunnel collapse.
Conception
New Zealand's involvement in the war had begun in 1939, and with Axis naval activity occuring in New Zealand waters, domestic defence plans were necessary, with much capital being invested. Matters became urgent with the entry of Japan into the war in 1941. A number of coastal defences were already in place throughout the country, with a concentration in Auckland, and Auckland City Council 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.[1] Additional shelters were created in basements and old existing tunnels.[2]
Auckland city centre had a daytime population of 78,000, but by April 1942 shelter capacity was only 20,000.[2] Furthermore, experience in Britain during the Blitz indicated that deep shelters provided greater protection.[2] Albert Park, a communal facility built in the 1880s on the site of a 1840s army barracks,[3] in the centre of the city was chosen as the site for a major construction, and in 1942 a large complex of tunnels and shelters was established under the park,[4] capable of sheltering 20,400 people.[5]
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. With planned shifts running twenty-four hours, the work was expected to take four to six months.[2] Work began in February, and the digging was completed in August.[6] Carpentry and plumbing, at additional cost, was added over the following two months.[6]
Construction and structure
There are more than 3.5 kilometres of tunnels,[7] reaching from Constitution Hill to Wellesley Street, involving a network of shelters, sanitation facilities and first aid posts, all ventilated by air shafts,[8] with a total of none entrances.[6] The tunnels run through sandstone and volcanic rock, and were mainly dug by hand by council workers, and were lined with timber.[5] Approximately 300 men worked on the tunnels.[6]
The central, arched access tunnels were 9ft high, 15 ft, wide, and 3700 ft long; the grid of accommodation galleries – totalling 6000 ft – were 7 ft square and provided with wooden seating.[6] The floors were covered with scoria.[6]
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 reduced the shock with the perpendicular reflections.[citation needed] In 1941, baffles had been added to the twenty-year-old Parnell tunnel.[1]
A diesel engine from an old meatworks powered the ventailation fans and emergency lighting,[6] as well as a loud-speaker system.[5]
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Illustrations of ‘baffles’ -
Enlargement of Altern Rd entrance to tunnel complex with three ‘baffles’ encompassed inside red box -
Enlargement of entrances 3, 4 & 5 to tunnel complex with three individual ‘baffles’ isolated in red boxes
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Enlargement of entrance 2 to tunnel complex with ‘baffle’ isolated in red box -
Enlargement of entrance 1 to tunnel complex with ‘baffle’ isolated in red box -
Annotated ‘Baffle’
Post-war history
After the war, the tunnels were filled in with unfired clay bricks, the entrances buried and the air shafts and other shafts in-filled. 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 separate groups: a businessman seeking to open it as a tourism venture, and a group of architecture students with their lecturer who considered the tunnels might offer a solution to Auckland’s traffic problems.[9]. 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 tourist attraction.[8] Related legislation was passed in 2001.[10] Since the tunnels have been closed for 61 years, but not air-tight, it is possible an eco-system has developed inside.[citation needed]
In 2005, subsidence occurred within the park, due to the collapse of in-fill soil within the old ventilation shafts.[11] Blocked entrances can be seen at the top of Victoria Street – hidden by a decorative wall – and the steel door present at the foot of Constitution Hill.[5] Three other blocked entrances are located behind the Park's Gateway sculpture.[12]
Notes
- ^ a b Taylor, p. 511
- ^ a b c d Taylor, p. 517
- ^ Clough, Rod (PhD); Albert Park Conservation/Management Plan: Archaeological Assessment, Clough & Associates, Auckland, 1996
- ^ Auckland City Council: Albert Park
- ^ a b c d "Heritage Walks: The Engineering Heritage of Auckland" by Elizabeth Aitken Rose and the Auckland Engineering Heritage Committee of IPENZ. ISBN 0-908960-46-8
- ^ a b c d e f g Taylor, p. 518
- ^ Auckland GenWb: Albert Park Tunnels
- ^ a b "Albert Park Tunnels Agreement Signed", SCENE, March 4,1996
- ^ Exploration by the Intrepid Binary Brothers
- ^ New Zealand Government Website "Access to Albert Park tunnels included in new legislation", 9 October 2001
- ^ "Investigation into subsidence in Albert Park" Wednesday, 19 October 2005, 12:56 pm Press Release: Auckland City Council
- ^ Aoteroa Cam: Albert Park
References
- Pilkington, Scott; (2008) "Heritage values of the Albert Park air raid shelters". Archaeology in New Zealand 51(2):106-117.
- Taylor, Nancy M. (1986), The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–1945, Volume I: The Home Front, Wellington: Historical Publications Branch, online