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| From Mt Cook |
Mt Cook has an early history as Wellington's 'compliance quarter' - from the 1840s Mt Cook was the first home of the military, police and prisons. The main magazine to store explosives was built off Tasman St. Originally known as Banks Terrace, the part of Tasman St between Buckle and Rugby Streets was formed by prisoners. Drainage run-off problems led residents to complain that the Government had not adequately finished the work above the road (drains and a retaining wall). In the 1890s a retaining wall was built. It used bricks made in the prison brickworks, sporting the distinctive broad arrow. In 1942 steps were hurriedly cut through the brick wall to provide access to four air-raid shelters dug into the hill behind. The wall is now the oldest surviving structure on Mt Cook.
The NZ Historic Places Trust is proposing registering the wall as a Category 2 historic place.
Please encourage this by emailing your support to ibargas@historic.org.nz
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