Access is through a long pedestrian tunnel, or an adit to be more precise – this tunnel has no exit point. You’ll be welcomed aboard the elevator for the 66-metre ride to the top of the hill. The ride costs $2 (each way) for adults, $1 for children and eftpos is available. The elevator operates 8am-6pm on weekdays, 10am-5pm at weekends and public holidays and is open every day except Christmas day.

See more about Durie Hill Elevator, including any upcoming maintenance closures, on their website.

Durie Hill Elevator to offer new guided tours this summer.

Durie Hill Elevator will offer special guided tours on selected dates this summer, including during Whanganui Vintage Weekend.

A unique form of public transport, Durie Hill Elevator opened on August 2, 1919. Set into the hill, the 213-metre tunnel and 66-metre public transport elevator – staffed then as now by an operator, enable a short journey by foot or bicycle between Whanganui city centre and Durie Hill.

In the guided tours, visitors will see some of the capabilities of the new tunnel lighting and displays and hear more details about the elevator story. Visitors ride the elevator with a Whanganui Connection guide and also see the famous Mercury Arc Rectifier.

Durie Hill Elevator guided tours
Vintage Weekend and selected dates
Bookings essential at www.duriehillelevator.co.nz/tours
Tours begin at the Tunnel Entrance, 42 Anzac Parade Whanganui

Whanganui residents can also access discounted tickets to the tour. Bookings are available at the new Durie Hill Elevator website. Along with tours, the website also offers an online store for Durie Hill Elevator merchandise such as cups, tea towels and t-shirts, and the website has the most up-to-date information on elevator maintenance and replacement shuttles.

Whanganui Connection’s Anthonie Tonnon says, ‘We’ve felt a need for some time to offer more experiences at the Elevator, particularly for visitors to our city. A guided tour, along with the new technology we installed this year allows us to offer something more in-depth while keeping our fares affordable, and our service quick for our public transport users.’

Tonnon will be taking many of the tours himself. While the currently available tickets are on selected days throughout the holiday period, Tonnon hopes to offer more dates in the new year. Those wishing to book a tour on a date not listed can inquire by emailing whanganuiconnection@gmail.com.

The construction of the Durie Hill Underground Elevator enabled the development of the Durie Hill Garden Suburb in 1920. This suburb was planned by the architect Samuel Hurst Seager and is considered to be the first modern New Zealand suburb. The elevator continued to be operated by the company until 1 June, 1942 when control passed to the Council, which continues to own and maintain the complex today.

Durie Hill Elevator lower landing.

Adjacent to the Durie Hill Elevator Tower is the Durie Hill War Memorial Tower. The decision to build a war memorial to the fallen was made in 1919 but the location was fiercely debated by the townspeople of the time. This is the tower and memorial built from the first proposal. The alternative was to build a war memorial more central to the town and in the end, both projects went ahead. The other memorial, built in 1923, is the Cenotaph located in Pukenamu Queen’s Park Reserve.

This tower is a real testament to the builders of the time and is registered as a Category 2 Historic Place. The tower is the official Wanganui County Memorial to the 513 people from the district who died in the First World War and is constructed of cemented marine sandstone containing shell fragments (simply called shell rock) from a nearby quarry. It is 33.5m high (104 feet) and the rock is estimated to be more than 2 million years old.

The height of the lookout deck is 113m (372.2 feet) above sea level and provides the best panoramic views of the city, Whanganui River and the harbour. On a fine day, you can see Mt Taranaki, Mt Ruapehu and the northernmost tip of the South Island.

The Durie Hill Elevator has its own first-person Instagram account

Check out the Durie Hill Elevator on Seven Sharp

Read about Tonnon and the Durie Hill Elevator in The Guardian