| Wrights Hill Fortress | |
|---|---|
| Near Wellington in New Zealand | |
 The No.1 Gun Emplacement | |
 | |
| Site information | |
| Owner | New Zealand Military Forces |
| Operator | 10th Coast Regiment |
| Open to the public | Yes |
| Website | Wrights Hill Fortress Restoration Society |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1942-1944 |
| Built by | Downer & Co Ltd. Department of Public Works |
| In use | 1944-1957 |
| Fate | Mainly intact, guns removed |
| Events | Second World War |
| Designated | 25 June 2004 |
| Reference no. | 7543 |
Wrights Hill Fortress is a counter bombardment coastal artillery battery in the Karori suburb of Wellington, New Zealand. It was built between 1942 and 1944 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 Whangaparāoa 9.2" Mk. XV batteries, near Auckland.[1][2]
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 King's birthday, and Labour Day. Tours may be booked, at other dates and times, by prior arrangement.[3] The Fortress is listed as a Category I Historic Place.[4]
- ^ "Wrights Hill Gun Emplacement". wellingtoncityheritage.org.nz. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
- ^ "History". wrightshillfortress.org.nz. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
- ^ "Open Days". wrightshillfortress.org.nz. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
- ^ "Wrights Hill Fortress". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 8 July 2008.