Quail Island, New Zealand
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2008-07-07T15:53:09Z
Themightyquill
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[[Category:Leper colonies]]
'''Quail Island''' (''Ōtamahua'' in [[Maori language|Māori]], sometimes also known as ''Te Kawakawa'') is a small uninhabited island within [[Lyttelton, New Zealand|Lyttelton Harbour]] in the [[South Island]] of [[New Zealand]], close to [[Christchurch]]. The island was given its European name by Captain Mein Smith who saw native [[quail]] here in 1842; though they were already [[extinct]] by 1875. 'Ōtamahua' has the meaning of a 'place where children collect sea eggs'.<ref name="DOC"/> 'Te Kawakawa' refers to the [[Macropiper excelsum|Pepper tree]]s found on the island.<ref name="LIB">[http://library.christchurch.org.nz/TiKoukaWhenua/Otamahua/ Otamahua] (from the [[Christchurch City Libraries]] website)</ref>
==History==
Apparently uninhabited by the New Zealand native peoples, it was still often visited to collect [[shellfish]], [[flax]], bird's [[Egg (biology)|egg]]s as well as stone for tools (from King Billy Island, an outcrop just off Quail Island). Europeans briefly farmed it in 1851, before it was turned into a [[quarantine]] station in 1875, and later into a small [[leper colony]] from 1907-1925, while being used also being as a hospital during the [[influenza]] [[epidemic]] of 1907.<ref name="DOC"/>
Replicas of dog kennels (once used for training of the dogs used in Arctic expeditions of the early 19th century) and a replica leprosy patient’s hut were built by students of [[Cathedral College]], with the quarantine barracks also restored and moved to the beach front. The island was declared a recreation reserve in 1975, and has a number of safe swimming beaches, as well as some day facilities (toilets, day shelter). A ferry service is available to the island, and private watercraft may also access the island.<ref name="DOC">[http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/PlaceProfile.aspx?id=35294 Ōtamahua/Quail Island Recreation Reserve] (from the [[New Zealand Department of Conservation|Department of Conservation]] website)</ref>
The Ōtamahua/Quail Island Ecological Restoration Trust and the Department of Conservation are currently working to remove [[Pest (organism)|pest]]s and re-vegetate the island, with the aim of eventually re-introducing [[native wildlife]].<ref name="DOC"/>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{coord|-43.625887|172.687912|type:landmark_region:NZ|display=title}}
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[[Category:Islands of New Zealand]]
[[Category:Canterbury, New Zealand]]
[[Category:Leper colonies]]
[[de:Quail Island]]