A notable landmark
Mt Eden Prison is one of New Zealand's oldest prisons and probably its most well-known. The Victorian stone building with its high towers and thick stone perimeter wall is a recognisable Auckland landmark.
Built to meet increasing demand
Although Mt Eden Prison has operated since the late 1800s, it was not Auckland's first prison. By 1840 a gaol was operating in what was then Official Bay and a year later a new facility opened on the corner of Queen and Victoria streets. Within a few years, overcrowding and deteriorating conditions at the Queen Street gaol saw the establishment of the first building on the current Mt Eden site, a timber stockade which held prisoners from 1856. The opening of another building on the site in 1865 allowed the Queen Street gaol to be demolished.
With prisoner numbers continuing to rise, a select committee in 1862 identified the Mt Eden stockade site for a new prison. The facility was to be built under a tight budget using mainly prisoner labour. A neighbouring quarry provided the stone and yards were set up in the prison for pre-cutting work. By the mid 1870s prisoners had completed the stone wall that surrounds the prison today.
In 1882 prisoners began excavation work for the building that would be based on the traditional English prison design. Mt Eden Prison was to be New Zealand's 'model' prison based on the view of the then Inspector of Prisons that such facilities should be unpleasant places to be dreaded.
The first prisoners were transferred to the partially complete prison in 1888 and the original buildings were completed around 1917. Around 1894 a superintendent's house was built. This building was converted to a women's prison in 1964 and was used for that purpose until 2006.
Prison generates sizeable income
The location of Mt Eden Prison next to a quarry and rail lines, as well as its ready supply of prisoner labour, allowed the prison to generate significant income to offset operating costs. By the 1920s the prison had established a steady sale of quarried products to borough councils for roading works and was generating income from tailoring, boot making and mailbag repair industries. The 1950s saw a change in policy from employing prisoners in menial work and hard labour to productive work focused on providing job skills that would improve the chances of prisoners' successful rehabilitation back into society and reduce re-offending rates.
Capital punishment
As was the practice in New Zealand before the abolition of capital punishment in 1961, prisoners were sentenced to death and hanged at Mt Eden Prison. In 1989 the remains of five Maori prisoners who had been executed at the prison were exhumed and returned to their tribal home areas. The remains of six other prisoners were also exhumed.
Calls for prison to close
Even as Mt Eden Prison was being built, calls were made for it to be closed. Changing views about prison incarceration during the early 1900s led the then Minister of Justice to declare the facility to be obsolete. By 1945 public calls were being made for the prison to be demolished and in 1951 the government announced in Parliament that this would occur. Demolition plans were postponed in 1953 due to a shortage of funds.
1965 riot 
The problems at Mt Eden Prison, including a worsening overcrowding problem, were seen as contributing to a prison-wide riot in 1965. Following a failed mass breakout attempt, prisoners lit fires that quickly spread along the roof, fuelled with fat, oil, furniture and prisoners' personal effects. By the time prisoners surrendered 34 hours later, little remained of the prison other than its exterior stone shell. Basements, storerooms, the kitchen, chapel, watch house and 61 cells were among the facilities destroyed. The prison roof also suffered extensive damage. The riot led to further public condemnation of the prison and calls for it to be demolished. Due to a shortage of alternative accommodation, the prison was gradually rebuilt as a temporary measure, but much of it was not restored to its original condition.
Heritage site
The exterior of Mt Eden Prison is classified as a Category One historic place under the Historic Places Act 1993. The exterior and surroundings are classified as a Category A building in the Auckland City District Plan.