The riot at Mt Eden in 1965 became a catalyst, accelerating the development of what would become Pāremoremo Maximum Security Prison, officially opened as Auckland Prison in March 1969.
McKay became involved in the project in 1966 and remained on site throughout the main construction period, working continuously until the prison’s completion in 1969. The scale and sensitivity of a maximum-security facility demanded exceptional standards of engineering, reliability and coordination. Operating within a highly controlled environment, McKay provided specialist electrical expertise to support a prison designed to set new benchmarks in security, resilience and operational efficiency.
The Pāremoremo project required close collaboration with government authorities, principal contractors and other trades, balancing rigorous security requirements with the practical needs of a modern correctional institution. For McKay, the work represented not only a technical challenge but also a test of disciplined project delivery in a setting where precision and dependability were critical.
The opening of Auckland Prison in 1969, attended by Joe Faithfull and his wife, Jackie, marked the fulfilment of decades of planning and promise, and a turning point in New Zealand’s approach to maximum-security corrections.
McKay’s sustained on-site involvement from 1966 to 1969 reinforced the company’s growing reputation for delivering complex, high-risk infrastructure. The Pāremoremo project stands as an early example of McKay’s contribution to nationally significant developments, reflecting capabilities that would continue to evolve and define the company in the decades that followed.
