Post-war History
The expected air raids did not eventuate, and with the tunnels unused, by the end of 1943 the timber supports were beginning to fail. By February 1945, without the money to upgrade or convert the tunnels to other use, plans were made to fill them in. The tunnels were filled in with 8.8 million unfired clay blocks which were made by Crum Brick and Tile in New Lynn. It took 15 men a total of 12 months to complete the back-filling process and the entrances were sealed and buried by 18th April 1946.
Since then, a number of schemes have been proposed to make use of reopened tunnels. In the 1960s there were newspaper articles proposing ideas, and interest was renewed in the 1990s by two separate groups: a businessman seeking to open it as a tourism venture, and a group of architecture students with their lecturer who considered the tunnels might offer a solution to Auckland’s traffic problems. In 1996, the city council signed a contract with tourism promotor William Reid, giving him permission to unseal the tunnels and perform an inspection, with a view to developing a tourist attraction. Related legislation was passed in 2001.
In 2005, subsidence occurred within the park, due to the collapse of in-fill soil within the old ventilation shafts. Blocked entrances can be seen at the top of Victoria Street – hidden by a decorative wall – and the steel door present at the foot of Constitution Hill. Three other blocked entrances are located behind the Park's Gateway sculpture.
As of June 2012, two Auckland residents Bill Reid and Mark Howarth, are working on plans to have the first 25m of tunnel five excavated in order to create a museum depicting its history. However, Auckland council has advised no investigations have been carried out with regards to work required to reopen the tunnels.
Read more about this topic: Albert Park Tunnels
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