October 2013: There was no point in trying to talk Gunner out of surmounting yet another obstacle- an historic abandoned suspension bridge.
Category: Manawatu
Night Riding
Driving through the Manawatu at night can be boring, but not when you have abandoned buildings and stars to take photos of!
Featured in this post are a strange concrete shed on a paddock, a quarry, and the hospital featured in this post (in a new light):
https://urbexcentral.com/2013/03/31/hilltop-hospital-in-east-manawatu/
Stay tuned for more posts from this trip.
Freestyle
Sometimes we don’t even have to search for a new location- we just stumble on them. This abandoned rural school and pool is a good example. We came across it accidentally while taking some time out from exploring a nearby complex. Someone’s got to brush up on their freestyle strokes though 🙂
The Centre
At the close of the Second World War, this former Air Force base was converted into a “Mental Deficiency Colony” to house children deemed ‘backward’. By the mid 1970′s it had become the largest psychopaedic hospital in the southern hemisphere, with a population exceeding 700. The centre was “deinstitutionalised” in 2005 and has been largely abandoned, but not forgotten.
Bed Ridden
This old hospital is still in remarkable condition and is largely free from vandalism (aside from a large number of broken/opened windows) , there are even still hospital beds in the rooms. We found an interesting surprise in one of the rooms, a petrified cat.
Power
The huge generators in this power station are still fully operational, but it is unlikely that it will ever put another kW of power into the grid as it has been disconnected.
A group of enthusiasts maintain this fantastic example of engineering and occasionally hold open days, we were lucky enough to be passing by when one of their group was doing maintenance inside and allowed us (and now you) to have a peek at the inner workings.
Hilltop Hospital in East Manawatu
This rural hospital became defunct once the small country town in which it is located upgraded their facilities and build a new hospital on a different site, by the time we managed to explore it an entire wing had been removed and much of the interior had been stripped and sold to building recyclers. It is a shame to lose what was once such a nice example of art deco architecture. These photos were taken by an associate of ours, so credit goes to them for the images.
U R B E X C E N T R A L 