Wrights Hill Fortress

About

Wrights Hill Fortress is a former counter bombardment coastal artillery battery in the Karori suburb of Wellington, New Zealand.

Story

Wrights Hill Fortress is a counter bombardment coastal artillery battery in the Karori suburb of Wellington, New Zealand. It was built between 1942 and 1947 and is predominantly underground, with numerous tunnels linking the war shelters, gun emplacements, magazines, plotting rooms and engine room - which are, at some points, over 50 feet underground. The fort was intended to house three 9.2" Mk. XV guns, but only two guns were installed and the fort never saw action. After World War II was over, fort commanders fired both of the guns (Gun number one in 1946 and the second in 1947). The fall of the shot was observed in Cook Strait and these test firings (three rounds on each occasion) were deemed a success. In 1960, somewhat ironically, both of the guns were sold to the Japanese as scrap metal, the very nation Wrights Hill Fortress was constructed to defend Wellington against. The design of the fort is similar to the Stony Batter and Whangaparaoa 9.2" Mk. XV batteries, near Auckland.

Wrights Hill Fortress is currently in the hands of a preservation society and can be visited, by the public, on Waitangi Day, ANZAC Day, the Queen's birthday, and Labour Day. Tours may be booked, at other dates and times, - by prior arrangement. The Fortress is listed as a Category I Historic Place.