What If The Sky Should Fall?

Wellington had a bakery

The nightshift officers

Would have a series of unlocks

Of prisoners to go to the bakery

With the bakery instructor

Or the catering instructor

So that would be approximately five o’clock

At six o’clock

The ‘morning staff’

Or the six-to-two staff

Would come on

And unlock of the kitchen prisoners would commence

Half past six would be the main unlock slop-out

They would be unlocked

They would be stood to their doors with their chamber pots

Because the place had no toilets until the mid/late ‘80s

Chamber pots would then be emptied

Invariably as a new officer

You got that job to stand in the sluice room

And supervise the slops

And in some respects you were being tested

And prisoners may attempt

To even throw their contents of their pisspot at new staff

They would return to their cells

They would make their beds or bedrolls

So, you would have an oblong lot of grey blankets

With a red stripe through them

Government issue

And then there would be the two sheets

That we’d put on it

They would sweep their cells out

Empty their rubbish tin

And then there would be call for mealtime

In the East Wing

Which is a remand wing

The prisoners were fed in

They would all come out

Called out by divisions

Cells one to ten

Or, I can’t remember exactly

Those prisoners come out

Grab a tray

Would be served from a bain-marie

And then return to their cells

And be locked down

Over in the West Wing

Which was an open wing

The lower security prisoners

Ate in a dining room situation

So they would go the kitchen/dining room area

And they would be fed in association

After breakfast they were again returned to their cells

Get ready for work

Or for any work party they were in

Generally eight o’clock

Eight AM

You were paraded for work

The garden gang would line up with the garden instructor

Mechanics

He might only have two or three prisoners

The painters

The carpenters

All these work parties would line up

And be marched out to their various workshops

Or the garden

And commence labour

I can’t remember if we all returned for lunch

Or whether lunch was brought out to some of the work parties

‘Bout half past three

Be marched back and mustered

They then would be abluted

Could have a shower

Get dressed for evening routine

Have their tea

There would be a lockup period after tea

And then about six o’clock

Those who were approved for recreation

Would be unlocked

And there were things like ping pong table

Darts boards

Cards

And later they got a television in the wing

The remand prisoners on the east side

Their routine was slightly different

After tea they were locked down for the night as remand prisoners

Of course

They haven’t been found guilty of anything

So they always got locked up longer!

So there’s your basic routine

Now, that routine you could take to Mount Eden

You could take to Whanganui

You could take to Dunedin

Christchurch

You’re gonna be unlocked at half past six

And you’re gonna be locked up at five o’clock

And you would do this

And this

And this

And this

At this time

The worst thing you can do in a prison

Is suddenly change the routine

All is well

If it’s all the same