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Wrights Hill Fortress

Buildings and structures in Wellington CityForts in New ZealandHeritage New Zealand Category 1 historic places in the Wellington RegionMilitary history of New Zealand during World War IINew Zealand Army
Tourist attractions in the Wellington RegionWorld War II sites in New Zealand
Wright's Hill Karori Gun Emplacement Fisheye August 2013
Wright's Hill Karori Gun Emplacement Fisheye August 2013

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 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.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Wrights Hill Fortress (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Wrights Hill Fortress
Wrights Hill Road, Wellington Karori

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Wikipedia: Wrights Hill FortressContinue reading on Wikipedia

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Latitude Longitude
N -41.2961 ° E 174.739 °
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Wright's Hill Fortress

Wrights Hill Road
6012 Wellington, Karori
Wellington, New Zealand
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Wright's Hill Karori Gun Emplacement Fisheye August 2013
Wright's Hill Karori Gun Emplacement Fisheye August 2013
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Zealandia (wildlife sanctuary)
Zealandia (wildlife sanctuary)

Zealandia, formerly known as the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, is a protected natural area in Wellington, New Zealand, the first urban completely fenced ecosanctuary, where the biodiversity of 225 ha (just under a square mile) of forest is being restored. The sanctuary was previously part of the water catchment area for Wellington, between Wrights Hill (bordering Karori) and the Brooklyn wind turbine on Polhill. Most of New Zealand's ecosystems have been severely modified by the introduction of land mammals that were not present during the evolution of its ecosystems, and have had a devastating impact on both native flora and fauna. The sanctuary, surrounded by a pest-exclusion fence, is a good example of an ecological island, which allows the original natural ecosystems to recover by minimising the impact of introduced flora and fauna. The sanctuary has become a significant tourist attraction in Wellington and is responsible for the greatly increased number of sightings of species such as tui and kākā in city's suburbs. Sometimes described as the world's first mainland island sanctuary in an urban environment, the sanctuary has inspired many similar projects throughout New Zealand, with predator-proof fences now protecting the biodiversity of many other areas of forest. Examples include the 7.7-hectare (19-acre) lowland podocarp forest remnant of Riccarton bush/ Putaringamotu, the 98 hectare Bushy Park and, the 3500 hectare Maungatautari Restoration Project enclosing an entire mountain.