The café, located outside the wire on Wellington’s Rimutaka Prison grounds was launched in 2008. Photo / Kingi Snelgar.
The café, located outside the wire on Wellington’s Rimutaka Prison grounds was launched in 2008. Photo / Kingi Snelgar.
A Kiwi prison cafe has divided opinion over its choice of name, as photos of a sign for “Doing Thyme” cafe circulate social media.
The cafe, located outside the wire on Wellington’s Rimutaka Prison grounds was launched in 2008.
It’s run by two instructors, with prisoners employed at the cafeto gain life skills such as cheffing, food handling and barista work.
The name’s play on words (thyme being a herb used in cooking, now referenced in the common prison term of “doing time”) has entertained some and left others bemused.
A photo of the cafe’s sign was posted on social media by Auckland lawyer and former crown prosecutor Kingi Snelgar - who captioned the photo telling New Zealand Corrections to “please do better”.
“That’s disgusting,” said one person. Others remarked the title as “bad taste”, with one commenting “wait, that’s real? yikes”.
When the Herald contacted Snelgar, he said he initially saw the humour in the café's name choice.
“But when you pull away the fact prisons are pretty hostile and difficult environments, it didn’t strike me as right to play on the fact people are doing hard-time and mentally ill - the name is a bit on the nose,” he said.
“It’s taking the piss out of it.”
Snelgar has begun to petition for further awareness around the way we name prisons and correction-related facilities, most of which now have Māori names.
For example, Whanganui prison’s high-security unit is called Hīnaki - which is a Māori term for a basket used to trap eels, there’s one way into the basket and no way out.
Now, the term is colloquially referred to as a prison.
“The metaphor is it’s a place for where you go and don’t get out. So for corrections to take that phrase, to use it for representing high-security units is [degrading] the Māori language,” said Snelgar.
Whanganui prison’s high-security unit is called Hīnaki - which is a Māori term for a basket used to trap eels. Photo / NZME
“I appreciate it’s a sensitive topic, but it’s a bit dehumanising for people who are already vulnerable.”
Another example he provided is Korowhai, which is Māori for a beautiful cloak worn by leaders and people of notable achievement.
Now, it’s the name of a youth prison in south Auckland.
“The contrast of using Māori words to name prisons, you think of these prisons and it’s now part of the connotation of Māori.”
Snelgar has raised the issue informally with Oranga Tamariki and said he’s open to meeting with iwi to discuss the issue further.
Corrections weren’t aware of any complaints it had ever received, from either staff or inmates in regards to the Doing Thyme cafe’s name.
Acting prison director Rob Anesi said the café was named by instructors when it was opened and originally catered for staff at the former Staff Training College.
In 2019, it then opened to all paying staff, contractors and volunteers.
Anesi said employment at the cafe will be the first time inmates will have been given an opportunity to develop working skills, giving practical experience and qualifications ahead of their release.
“Having a job not only helps people become financially independent but also gives them a sense of purpose which can be a motivator to stay out of prison,” he said.
“[It] reduces their likelihood of reoffending and helps keep our communities safe.”
