Tunnels through Mount Victoria

Tunnels through Mount Victoria provide access for vehicle traffic, pedestrians, public transport and infrastructure serving the largely residential eastern suburbs of Wellington, New Zealand, which are separated from the city by Mount Victoria. The first tunnel was completed in 1907, and as of 2026 there are proposals for a third traffic tunnel.

photo of bus exiting a narrow tunnel
A bus exiting the city side of the Hataitai Bus Tunnel
photo of traffic tunnel entrance
City side of the Mount Victoria Tunnel
photo of traffic tunnel interior
Interior of the Mount Victoria Tunnel, showing the raised pedestrian walkway

Hataitai Bus Tunnel

In the 1870s and 1880s, members of the public expressed a wish for a tunnel through Mount Victoria,[1][2] and as Kilbirnie developed in the late 1800s, there were more demands for a tunnel from the city.[3][4] There were also proposals from this time for a rail tunnel under Mount Victoria.[5][6][7]

The Hataitai Land Company bought land on the eastern slopes of Mount Victoria for a housing development and offered to pay part of the cost of construction of a tunnel from Elizabeth Street in Mount Victoria to what is now Hataitai, as it would improve access to their subdivision.[8][9]

In 1904 the City Council's engineer recommended a tram tunnel be put through Mount Victoria to Hataitai on the basis that Hataitai residents would contribute to the cost.[10] This would enable a tram service to run as far as Kilbirnie. The plan included laying an 8 inch water supply main from the city to Kilbirnie through the tram tunnel.[11] The tram tunnel opened in April 1907.[12] Spoil from the tunnel was used to create a flat play area on the Mount Victoria side and to reclaim land at Evans Bay which now forms part of Kilbirnie Park.[13]

The tunnel is one lane wide and oval in cross section. There is no pedestrian access through the tunnel: although The Hataitai Land Company and residents wanted a walkway through the tunnel, Wellington City Council wanted to collect revenue from tram fares and prosecuted anybody caught walking through the tunnel.[14]

With the closure of Wellington's tram system in the 1960s, the tunnel was converted for trolley bus use in 1963.[15]

Mount Victoria Tunnel

With rapid development in the eastern suburbs from the early 20th century, there were calls for a second tunnel, preferably with pedestrian and vehicular access.[16] In 1910 the City Engineer W H Morton recommended that a tunnel should be driven from near the Basin Reserve to opposite Goa Street, Hataitai, but this did not eventuate.[17][18] Further schemes and discussions were proposed during the next 20 years.[19][20][21]

In 1931, the Mount Victoria Tunnel was opened south of the then tram tunnel.[22] The western approach is from the Basin Reserve, and in the east it ends at Hataitai. The tunnel has one lane in each direction and an elevated pedestrian walkway that is also used by cyclists.

Proposed second traffic tunnel

In 1974 a pilot tunnel was bored through Mount Victoria as preliminary work for a planned second vehicle tunnel to be funded by the National Roads Board. The pilot tunnel is about 2.4 m (8 ft) in diameter and lies almost parallel to and north of the Mount Victoria tunnel.[23] The second tunnel project was cancelled.

As of 2026, a new tunnel through Mount Victoria is in the planning stages.[24]

References

  1. ↑ "A suggestion". New Zealand Times. Vol. XXXI, no. 4899. 4 December 1876. p. 2. Retrieved 3 August 2024 – via PapersPast.
  2. ↑ "Oriental Bay question". New Zealand Times. Vol. XLIII, no. 7231. 29 July 1884. p. 3. Retrieved 3 August 2024 – via PapersPast.
  3. ↑ "Oriental Bay question". Evening Post. Vol. LX, no. 90. 13 October 1900. p. 6. Retrieved 3 August 2024 – via PapersPast.
  4. ↑ "All sorts of people". Free Lance. Vol. I, no. 40. 6 April 1901. p. 3. Retrieved 8 August 2024 – via PapersPast.
  5. ↑ "Railway Management". Evening Post. Vol. XXXVII, no. 67. 20 March 1889. p. 2. Retrieved 6 August 2024 – via PapersPast.
  6. ↑ "Railway Extension". Dominion. Vol. 2, no. 316. 1 October 1908. p. 7. Retrieved 10 August 2024 – via PapersPast.
  7. ↑ "The city's expansion". Evening Post. Vol. LXXVIII, no. 106. 4 May 1912. p. 4. Retrieved 11 August 2024 – via PapersPast.
  8. ↑ "Local and General". Evening Post. Vol. LXI, no. 149. 26 June 1901. p. 4. Retrieved 8 August 2024 – via PapersPast.
  9. ↑ "Tunnel". Evening Post. Vol. LXV, no. 7. 9 January 1903. p. 8. Retrieved 8 August 2024 – via PapersPast.
  10. ↑ "Tramway extensions into the suburbs". Evening Post. Vol. LXVII, no. 51. 1 March 1904. p. 2. Retrieved 8 August 2024 – via PapersPast.
  11. ↑ "The new city loan". New Zealand Times. Vol. LXXVII, no. 5512. 14 February 1905. p. 7. Retrieved 9 August 2024 – via PapersPast.
  12. ↑ "The Kilbirnie Tramway". New Zealand Times. Vol. XXIX, no. 6182. 13 April 1907. p. 9. Retrieved 9 August 2024 – via PapersPast.
  13. ↑ "Kilbirnie's Tunnel". Evening Post. Vol. LXXI, no. 117. 18 May 1906. p. 6. Retrieved 9 August 2024 – via PapersPast.
  14. ↑ "Wellington City Council". New Zealand Times. Vol. XXIX, no. 6247. 28 June 1907. p. 8. Retrieved 9 August 2024 – via PapersPast.
  15. ↑ "Trolley buses to start using old tram tunnel". Evening Post. 23 September 1963.
  16. ↑ "Kilbirnie Tunnel duplication". New Zealand Times. Vol. XXXII, no. 74225. 6 September 1910. p. 1. Retrieved 9 August 2024 – via PapersPast.
  17. ↑ "Another tunnel". Dominion. Vol. 4, no. 1001. 16 December 1910. p. 8. Retrieved 11 August 2024 – via PapersPast.
  18. ↑ "Topics of the day". Evening Post. Vol. LXXXII, no. 110. 6 November 1911. p. 4. Retrieved 11 August 2024 – via PapersPast.
  19. ↑ "Hataitai and tunnel scheme". Dominion. Vol. 6, no. 1772. 10 June 1913. p. 6. Retrieved 12 August 2024 – via PapersPast.
  20. ↑ "Local and general". Dominion. Vol. 13, no. 130. 26 February 1920. p. 4. Retrieved 16 August 2024 – via PapersPast.
  21. ↑ "City Loan". New Zealand Times. Vol. XLVI, no. 10696. 16 September 1920. p. 5. Retrieved 18 August 2024 – via PapersPast.
  22. ↑ O'Neil, Andrea (13 April 2015). "Wellington's Mt Victoria 'tooting tunnel' a tribute to murdered teen". Stuff. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  23. ↑ "Pilot through but start date for Mt Victoria tunnel disputed". Evening Post. 7 February 1974.
  24. ↑ "SH1 Wellington improvements | NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi". nzta.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 15 January 2026. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
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