The disturbance followed a botched escape attempt by two prisoners and lasted into the next day. Several warders were taken hostage and part of the prison was gutted by fire.
Walter Bolton was the last person to be executed in New Zealand when he was convicted of poisoning his wife, Beatrice. He was hanged for her murder at Mount Eden prison. The death penalty for murder was abolished in New Zealand in 1961, and there were claims that this was due partly to the circumstances surrounding Bolton's case.
