Former inmate says Mt Eden Prison should become crime museum
A former inmate and sociology professor suggests that the historic, long-vacant Mt Eden Prison in Auckland should be converted into a museum. The site, which dates back to 1856, is currently in a state of disrepair and requires a decision on its future use.
Why it matters
Repurposing historic sites of incarceration raises questions about how society preserves difficult history versus urban redevelopment.
When 23-year-old Greg Newbold shuffled under the imposing rocky archway, it felt like he was stepping into the past.
"I was really shocked when I first went in there," he said. "I mean, I was from Auckland and I'd driven past the prison many, many times, but it looked like a medieval dungeon.
"I said, 'What's this?', and [my co-offender] said, 'This is the remand wing'. I said, 'What? You mean, this is where we stay?'
The now-author and retired sociology professor was arrested for dealing heroin in 1975, and remanded at the old Mt Eden Prison for five months, before he was moved to Pāremoremo to serve his sentence.
A general view of the Mount Eden prison 1900.
Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections/Auckland Weekly News
"It had high windows, which had no glass in them, because the glass had been smashed, and it just had bars," Newbold recalled.
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