Napier Prison, Napier (2024) - Images, Timings

Napier Prison, Napier Overview

Situated on Napier’s Bluff Hill, the Napier Prison, formerly a place where convicts were imprisoned, also used to be an orphanage, a psychiatric unit, and finally, is used as a historic facility. The eerie past incidents and the mysterious surroundings will undoubtedly give you the chills. Many stories of the place being haunted have been heard, adding to the eeriness.

Being a place of great historical significance, Napier Prison draws people in throughout the year and has employed different types of tours, which include day tours, night tours, as well as guided tours. Visitors are free to choose the tour they prefer according to their convenience. Besides, this penal complex also welcomes several schools to come and get a deeper insight into the fascinating prison, which still seems to have some of its former life left in it.

History of Napier Prison

After the construction of the Napier Prison came to an end, it began its operation from 1862, and it was not until 1993 that it was officially decommissioned.

Since it also used to serve its purpose as a psychiatric unit as well as an orphanage, it is safe to say that the walls have witnessed hundreds of different stories, which add to the mysterious aura of the place. In 2002, Napier Prison was reopened – this time, as a backpackers, before finally used as a tourist attraction.

Tours of the Prison

Napier Prison offers several tours to its visitors, and one is free to choose the tour they wish to be a part of. From the prison gates, you shall be able to witness the cells, the women’s wing, the hanging yard, the Redemption Garden, the solitary confinement section, the exercise yard, the suicide wing, the cages, and finally, the graveyard.

Day Tours:

The day tours offered by the Napier Prison are self-guided. You shall be given an audio device, which will whisper the prison’s historical stories into your ears as you stroll through the complex, exploring its interiors. Stories of victims and villains, saviours and the saved, are all included in the audio device that you can listen to, at your own pace.

You shall also be provided with a map to make it easier for you to find your way through the maze of the prison, complete with its different wings and yards. You can also get your mugshot taken as a souvenir!

Guidede Tours:

Available solely by appointment, guided tours through Napier Prison include a knowledgeable guide to accompany and show you the way while telling you the stories that reside within its four walls. During summers, weekly guided tours are usually scheduled during the weekends. It is to be kept in mind that only a limited number of people can apply for the guided tours at a time.

School Tours:

Napier Prison has additional facilities for tours conducted by schools. For primary and intermediate students, this complex houses a fun, educational Junior Programme, which runs for two hours, and provides suitable information about the history of New Zealand, the prison, and about the kind of lives people led before the students were born.

For younger pupils, Napier Prison hosts a Junior Programme for an hour and a half, teaching them about the prison’s history through stories and fun games.

A maximum of thirty students can be accommodated to one guide. However, the prison authorities have the means to make additional arrangements, in case the number exceeds it. The nature of the tour can be tailored as per the requirements of the school authorities.

Night Tours:

Occasionally, the Napier Prison hosts a scary night tour for the ones who are brave at heart. Known as Deadhill, this tour includes a guide who takes the visitors through the entire penal complex, which is transformed into a spooky place that is sure to give one the chills.

Blood-curdling screams, zombie sightings, and wandering ghosts show, rather than tell, the ways in which the inmates were treated in the 1800s. In this tour, you may also get to know about some of the most notorious prisoners to have lived in this place, including the Drug Baron of Australasia and the ‘Eye Eater’.

Pre-booking is mandatory for these tours. The Night Tour usually starts from 7 PM, with different groups released into the prison at an interval of ten minutes. The last group entry is usually at 9:30 PM.

Escape Rooms

Napier Prison hosts a special event, known as the Escape Room, in that people are locked in a room for an hour, during which they have to find ways to escape. At present, there are three different escape rooms.

A Prisoner’s Dilemma, which takes you back to February 1931, when you are stuck in the warden’s office and have to escape.
Earning Your Stripes, where you have to look for clues left by a fellow inmate and solve them to escape.
Therapy Unit, where you are blindfolded and handcuffed for some time before you can find your way out of the room.

The Escape Room costs NZD 30 per adult.

How To Reach Napier Prison

From the town centre and the Marine Parade, it only takes a few minutes to walk to the Napier Prison.
From Hawke’s Bay Airport, it takes about 11 minutes to reach Napier Prison by car, and 15 minutes, if you take the Coach Terminal as the starting point.