Daily Photo – The Portobello Museum

The wonderful thing about small, locally run museums is that they’re like rummaging through the back shed and discovering an antique clock. I mean that in the most affectionate way, I really do, because that’s exactly how I came upon the story of Portobello’s original lockup. It’s one of those small but fascinating chapters of Otago Peninsula history that could easily be overlooked.

In late 1883, after years of lobbying and persistence, the local community finally achieved what was then considered something of a luxury: their very own policeman. To accommodate him, the authorities erected a modest wooden police station and lockup on the corner of Beaconsfield Road and Landreth Street, just a short stroll from the waterfront. It was hardly an imposing structure. There were no grand stone walls or iron gates, just a practical little building designed to keep order in a growing settlement.

Yet for the people of the Peninsula, it represented security, stability and a tangible sign that Portobello had arrived as a community worthy of official attention. Remarkably, it continued to serve as the district’s law-enforcement headquarters for more than half a century, until new quarters were built in 1938.