Prison chaos: a riotous history of New Zealand prisons

Prison reform groups and inmate advocates call it a protest. Authorities are more likely to call it a riot.

Either way, this week’s chaos at Waikeria prison was the longest and most destructive standoff in a New Zealand jail in decades.

Waikeria’s disorder overshadowed a 2013 Spring Hill riot, when inmates drunk on homebrew ran rampant and set fire, but were brought under control in just nine hours.

Over the generations, riots and protests have broken out in New Zealand prisons for a variety of reasons.

Despite widespread damage, the deadlock in Waikeria was resolved through negotiations.

In the past, prison uprisings were sometimes only suppressed through extreme violence.

FEATHERSTON prisoner of war camp, 1943

For years, a confrontation and massacre at a camp near a quiet southern town of Wairarapa was one of New Zealand’s darkest secrets.

After the Allied victory at Guadalcanal, Japanese prisoners of war (prisoners of war) were taken from the Solomon Islands to New Zealand.

The Featherston camp housed hundreds of prisoners of war.

In February 1943, some Japanese prisoners of war went on strike. The rebel prisoners threw stones and reportedly rushed towards the guards.

The guards opened fire and killed 31 prisoners in about 30 seconds. Another 17 prisoners later died from their injuries and a guard died.

According to NZ Geographic, government agents largely edited the first report out of fear of Japanese retaliation against Commonwealth POWs.

A military court of inquiry determined that the shooting was unavoidable.

Some details of the court and many other official records were kept hidden, under embargo for 50 years.

MT EDEN, 1965

Mt Eden was the scene of a failed escape attempt in July 1965.

Daniel MacMillan and Godfrey Jonassen Sadaraka planned the getaway.

“His plan was simple and involved a gun, crudely made keys and violence,” wrote crime writer and sociologist Jarrod Gilbert in the Herald.

“The two men released other inmates with a makeshift key and an iron bar.”

Auckland Central Prison, which at the time housed inmates serving time for violent crimes, erupted in flames and chaos.

The “frenzied riot” swept through the interior, but failed to permanently close the jail, wrote author Mark Derby in Rock College: An Unofficial History of Mount Eden Prison.

The riots continued for 33 hours, causing extensive damage.

“A cordon of armed police officers, guards and troops stood guard around the prison under the glare of hastily rigged spotlights,” explains the 1966 New Zealand Encyclopedia.

Once the police and prison authorities took control, some of the disorderly prisoners were transferred to Christchurch.

That turned out to be far from ideal for the South Island city.

CHRISTCHURCH, 1965

Within a week, the newly arrived expelled from Mt Eden sparked a riot at Paparua in Christchurch.

Chaos broke out during a chapel service and six guards were injured.

Shortly after, a fire was lit in the east wing of the jail.

“Firefighters trying to control the blaze were met with a shower of silverware, bottles, bricks and furniture,” according to a British newscast Movietone-AP at the time.

Tear gas was used to suppress the riot.

When the riots stopped, more than 40 guards and policemen had superficial injuries, the New Zealand Encyclopedia said.

RIMUTAKA, 2007

North of Wellington, Rimutaka Prison went from scandal to scandal in 2007.

The Herald described the cavalcade of catastrophes at the time. In March of that year, 11 staff members were removed pending investigations into corruption and smuggling.

The same month, a senior manager received a special leave for mismanagement allegations.

Convicted rapist Peter Mana McNamara somehow managed to father a son while serving seven years in prison.

In April, youth affiliated with rival gangs Black Power and Mongrel Mob rioted, reportedly causing thousands of dollars worth of damage.

The following month, inmates took over part of the juvenile offenders unit, plunging the entire prison into closure.

The NZPA reported that an estimated 15 prisoners climbed onto the roof and stayed there for more than five hours before being persuaded to come down.

The damage caused by the riots cost $ 410,000, according to an NZPA report.

A source from the Parole Board said Sunday that Rimutaka had made reforms since then and is now considered one of the best-run prisons in the country and the most effective in rehabilitation.

NORTH, 2012

At Northland Regional Prison near Kaikohe, a riot squad was deployed after inmates damaged cells and started fires.

The entire prison, known as Ngawha, was closed.

The riot broke out a month after a clash between guards and inmates led to an officer being hospitalized with minor injuries following a blow to the head.

But the disorder lasted only about an hour.

The Herald at the time reported that Auckland prison staff, including highly trained advanced restraint and control unit members, were sent to the prison.

Kaumātua Mac Anania later told RNZ that pre-trial prisoners were responsible for the riots.

He said pretrial detainees were often agitated because they were smokers who suddenly found themselves in the prison and were suddenly cold.

SPRING HILL, 2013:

In the winter of 2013, some inmates got drunk on homebrew and lit bonfires at Spring Hill Jail, near Hampton Downs, between Hamilton and Auckland.

When news of the fiery uprising leaked to other prisons, Paremoremo maximum security prisoners blocked a door and tried to start a fire.

But the serious disorder was confined to Spring Hill.

And unlike the chaos in Waikeria this week, the Spring Hill riot was brought under control in less than half a day.

In a post-riot review, Corrections said the Spring Hill riot was the largest and most destructive instance of “concerted indiscipline” in any jail in the 21st century.

And the investigation found that parts of the prison’s administrative team were divided and dysfunctional.

The Spring Hill riot caused $ 10 million in damage.