Hutt Valley – U R B E X C E N T R A L

Expired

This large (by NZ standards) purpose built former tertiary institute expired at around the same time this Kodak Ektar 64T film did. And just like this 35mm expired film, it is apparently getting another lease of life. There are new owners and supposedly new occupants- but the only life we saw were some homies running their dogs (who tried to have a go at us); an alleged owner who asked what we were taking photos of (selfies of course) & told us to leave; and an elderly security guard who said- just leave. One of UC have a particular connection to this place, having kind of studied (sic) here when it was still a place of education- not stagnation.

May 12, 2016May 12, 2016 by urbexcentral

Nature Bites Back

This abandoned gardening centre no longer has house and garden plants for sale- the weeds have taken over…

September 21, 2014 by urbexcentral

Escuela Mala

A re-posted video of Petone College from early 2013. This former high school- abandoned, vandalized and the victim of numerous arson attacks- has finally been euthanized to make way for a retirement village. Escuela Mala loosely translates as “bad school” in Spanish.

June 6, 2014June 6, 2014 by urbexcentral

Bad Education (redux)

One of our old haunts has finally been demolished. Hutt Valley High School (formerly Petone Technical College) was closed in 1998, but partially used up until 2002. The site had been heavily vandalized over the years and targeted on a number of occasions by arsonists- most recently this past January. This last fire was the nail in the coffin for the former school. The remaining buildings were demolished last month to make way for (ironically) a retirement village.

June 6, 2014 by urbexcentral

4 Drains + Eels

With the beginning of summer we cracked 4 new drains in one day, and met plenty of friendly eels along the way.

November 6, 2013November 6, 2013 by urbexcentral

Water Wall

This defunct reservoir is no longer used to supply Wellington’s northern suburbs with water, despite that the weir remains full. The sunny day made for a good opportunity to experiment with some infra-red photography and high-speed video.

October 6, 2013October 14, 2013 by urbexcentral

NZR – Boneyard

As I was rattling by on the train I noticed this small train boneyard in the middle of the countryside – and we decided that it deserved an inspection!
Surrounded by a high electrified perimeter fence and with dogs baying nearby, we couldn’t hang around but managed to snap these shots.

September 15, 2013 by urbexcentral

Bad Education

This former highschool was closed about 15 years ago. The decay and vandalism that has occurred in the interim is astounding. It’s finally due for demolition soon and the land it occupies is to be developed into a retirement village.

August 30, 2013 by urbexcentral

Escuela Mala

“I had a terrible education. I attended a school for emotionally disturbed teachers.”
Woody Allen

July 5, 2013 by urbexcentral

T.A.B

Horsing around at a deserted racecourse and inspecting a disused tote building…

June 21, 2013June 25, 2013 by urbexcentral

Rolling

Abandoned rolling-stock, or so we thought. They’d been sitting there idle for years, but within a couple of weeks of our visit- they had disappeared without a trace…

May 31, 2013June 2, 2013 by urbexcentral

In Vivo

In vivo (Latin for “within the living”) is experimentation using a whole, living organism as opposed to a partial or dead organism. Animal testing and clinical trials are two forms of in vivo research. On average around 300,000 animals per year are used in experimentation, testing and teaching in New Zealand – from cats and dogs to rabbits, deer, mice, rats, fish, birds, pigs, cows and guinea pigs. This particular former testing facility has been irresponsibly left to the ravages of time and vandalism, a haunting reminder of what we commit in the name of science.

May 20, 2013May 22, 2013 by urbexcentral

Return To Isolation Unit

May 12, 2013May 13, 2013 by urbexcentral

Tanked

A small fleet of abandoned flammable goods tanker wagons provided us with an adventure playground.

March 28, 2013March 28, 2013 by urbexcentral

Bad Education

This former highschool was closed about 15 years ago… It’s still standing- just. The decay and vandalism that has occurred in the interim is astounding! It’s finally due for demolition soon- the land it stands on is to be developed into a retirement village…

March 27, 2013 by urbexcentral

Railways

An abandoned railway building, it is full of asbestos so if you come across this one I would advise you to stay away unless you have an appropriate mask.