FORT  DORSET

- ARTICLE -

     Fort Dorset was located in the suburb of Seatoun at the entrance to the harbour of Wellington.  This brief profile is about the buildings and structures rather than the people who have been at Fort Dorset.

     As early as the late 1870's Pt Dorset was identified as a ideal site for a coastal battery.  This was recommended by Colonel  Scratchely.  However this advice was ignored and work was undertaken to defend the inner harbour.
     In 1908 work began on constructing a 2 gun battery using 6"MkVII guns (on MkII mountings) on the top of the ridge at Pt Dorset.  By 1912 these 6" guns were manned by the Wellington Naval Artillery Volunteers.  Near this battery was a battery of 12pdr guns.  Also by this time there were searchlights which were powered by engines which were in a shed on the landward side of the eastern ridge.  In 1914 the 12pdr guns were removed and installed on merchant ships due to World
 War 1.
     As the defence focus had moved from defending the inner harbour to denying access to the harbour many of the inner harbour forts were shut down.  Between World War 1 and World War 2 Fort Dorset had permanent personnel who maintained the various coastal artillery equipment around Wellington. The 12pdr guns were returned to Fort Dorset in 1921.
 By 1926 the buildings that comprised the camp area were all south of what was to become the parade ground.  The area northward of this was largely marshy ground.  It was sometime during 1926 or 1927 that a building was shifted from the camp at Featherston.  This building was located immediately south of (what in the 1980's was) the "Q Store".  This building from Featherston was eventually joined to the building south of it to become  part of Fort Dorset HQ.

     It was not until the 26th April 1929 that Fort Dorset was officially declared as a military establishment in the "Gazette" No. 28.
     A aerial photo taken in 1938 shows many of the camp buildings that existed in 1927 still remained with the addition of a number of buildings built since the 1927 photo.  Among some of the buildings that were built since 1927 included the gun bays north of what was becoming the parade ground and also Nui Dat - a two story building.
     Fort Dorset and the new 6" battery built at Palmer Heads above Strathmore were at the outbreak of World War 2 the only large coastal  guns in place to defend Wellington.  During World War 2 a third gun was added to the Palmer Heads battery, Fort Opau - another 6" battery was built during 1941/42.   The large 9.2" battery on Wrights Hill above Karori which was started in 1942 was not finished until after the war.  During the Second World War quite a few buildings were added to accommodate the increase in personnel.  Also during this period of construction overhead covers for the 6" guns were added.
 
     Early in World War 2 Seatoun Park was used as a satellite camp with Phase 1 type accommodation for personnel while accommodation was being organised at the various defence sites around Wellington.  Fort Dorset at this time was the HQ for the heavy artillery Regiment that manned the various coastal defence batteries.
     At its prime.  There was a total of no less than four different batteries of guns that were part of Fort Dorset. Among them were 6" guns, 4"guns, Q.F. 12pdr guns as well as searchlights   Along the southern  ridge line were numerous fire control posts and observation posts as well as guns.
     After the war staffing was greatly reduced and the remaining staff maintained the equipment of Wellingtons coastal batteries. With the introduction of CMT in 1950 the fort was used for coastal artillery training.  CMT was abolished in 1958.
     In 1952 the building that became Fort Dorset's Officers Mess was shifted down from the Palmer Heads Fortress Area.
 In contrast to the extensive amount of construction work undertaken since 1930 in developing and strengthening the defences it was decided in 1957 that the Coastal Defences were no longer required.  So in the summer of 1960/61 the 6" guns at Fort Dorset were removed and scrapped along with the guns from the Palmer Heads Fortress area and the Fortress on Wrights Hill.  The scrap merchant was an Australian company who then sold the scrap metal to (ironically) the Japanese.
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     During the 1980's the role of Fort Dorset was that of providing accommodation for about 200 military personnel as well as transit accommodation for members of the Air Force, Army and Navy.  Also the fort provided regimental messing facilities and personnel administration support for the Army General Staff and Defence HQ.
 Many of the buildings were refurbished in the 1980's.  This is ironic (in hindsight) since on the 1st of November 1991 Fort Dorset was officially closed.

     Between November 1991 and June 1999 various groups and individuals have had permission to use occupy/use parts of Fort Dorset for various purposes.
 The Ministry of Education was authorised in December 1997 to buy 2.5 Hectares for a new Seatoun School as the existing school is too small and cramped for today's requirements.
 7 Hectares on the southern end of Fort Dorset rezoned as residential for development for town houses.

     I have had access on several occasions during 1998/99 to photograph Fort Dorset as part of a photographic record of the remains of military works around Wellington.  This record is an ongoing project of mine.  At Fort Dorset I had full access to both the grounds and building interiors.  Which is just as well as preservation of existing buildings didn't feature in the future uses of the land.

     At midnight in the evening on the 2nd June 1999 the central part of the camp from the gun bays southward to the tennis courts (inclusive) became property of the Ministry of Education.
Not that long afterwards - in August 1999 demolition work started.   From the photos I have seen of the demolition (taken by the Army) it appears that various fittings such as window frames etc. were being salvaged.  Not surprising given when many of the buildings were built.  Whether this salvaging will be done on all buildings I do not know.
     Construction of a Medieval village around the 2 composite squadron HQ/Gym/conference rm bldg and tennis courts. Most likely a film set possibly for Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" films. This set was only up for a short time.

     As at the 9th April 2000 when I visited the Fort to check on the demolition only a hand full of buildings had been demolished. These were 22(D) Btty HQ, 22(D) Btty Q store, Gun Bays, Squash court/hobby hut, VIP Chalet, the 2 storey Officers Mess and it's boiler house, Tiwaiwaka and Kereru (officers quarters) and the Armoury.
    I am uncertain as to when Seatoun School will be shifting into the new buildings as at the time this article was originally written in September 1999 it was to be about August with Seatoun Kindergarten shifting soon after. However given the progress of work on site it appears to be next year at the earliest.

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     It is a great shame that Fort Dorset has disappeared.  A few of it's buildings dated back to the 1920's while many of it's buildings were built during World War 2.  Although many of the buildings were refurbished internally in the 1980's their exteriors  remained virtually unchanged over the years with the camp appearing like it did in the 1950's.  Until it's demolition Wellington had a great collection of military works remaining - although many were in various states of disrepair.

     The plan I saw when photographing the buildings back in 1999 showed the school being the northern part of the camp. According to the Dominion, Thursday April 26th 2001 The Southern section of the camp will be the housing subdivision. The developers plans clearly show the subdivision being at the southern end of the camp occupying the area where the Sergeants Mess, Conferences room/gym, Matrons Quarters, Kea, Tui, Kangaw and Kotare barracks are. The drive from Burnham street to Dorset Cove will run along where the Guard House, Q Store and Fort Dorset HQ are. (And one of the buildings forming part of the Fort Dorset HQ was originally at the Featherston Camp until 1926/7).

     The Dorset Cove subdivision will have 16 sections with the cheapest going for about $395,000 (section only). Resource consent had been notified with submissions to the Wellington City Council closing on May 22nd 2001. Apparently the land was sold for about $6 million. The developer is Globe Holdings Ltd and their website for Dorset Cove is at www.dorsetcove.com. At their website are various plans relating to the subdivision.

    When I visited the site on Sunday the 2nd of September 2001 construction of the new school was well underway with the foundation, floor and main pillars of one built while another building has foundations and floor being done. A fence was going up running across between where the gun-bays and PWD workshops were. Meanwhile at the south end of the camp demolition work is virtually complete except for the removal of foundations. The ridgeline and scrub area is reserve land thus meaning that the observation posts, emplacements and related structures along the rudge are not in imminent threat.

 
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Seatoun School shifted into it's new buildings at the Fort Dorset site during the April school holidays. As of the 12th of July 2002 Seatoun School had about 313 students. The school occupies the southern sports field (that was opposite the Fort Dorset HQ) as well as the area that the parade ground and 22(D) gunbays and offices occupied.

Work started mid 2002 for the Point Dorset subdivision which will occupy the land North of the new Seatoun school (from behind where the 22(d) battery gun bays were) mid 2002. This is also being developed by Globe Holdings Ltd.

The demise of Fort Dorset is very unfortunate. The land south of the new school is the Dorset Cove subdivision and the land north of the school is listed at Globe Holdings Ltd website as being for the "Point Dorset" subdivision. This means that Shelly bay is the only WW2 site that is predominantly composed of wooden structures in Wellington. And even that site is not safe from the threat of demolition.

Reference:
  Official War History of the Public Works Dept.
    F.G. Grattan

  Fort Dorset Record Book
    AD88 item ref 2
     (Nat Arc - Wgtn)

  Fort Dorset Information Booklet
    Internal publication,
    New Zealand Army.

  Numerous Site visits.

 www.dorsetcove.com - the developer -
   Globe Holdings Ltd website for the subdivision.

  Various Evening Post and Dominion newspaper articles

  Education Review Office -
    Supplementary Review Report:
    Seatoun School July 2002

 
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