A-Z of NZ Locations

A-Z of NZ Locations – Quail Island

Suzanne

Ōtamahua (Quail Island) is located in Lyttelton Harbour on the South Island’s east coast. The island has a varied history, first being used as a quarantine station for people and also for the quarantine and training of dogs and horses that were used on four Antarctic expeditions from 1902 to 1910.

Later, the island was used as New Zealand’s only Leper Colony and as a farm. Over the last decade, large areas have been replanted back to natives, and bird life is starting to flourish. Another chapter in the island’s history was when many unwanted ships were beached and anything of value salvaged from 1902 to 1951.

The largest was The Darra pictured here in the morning light.

Built in 1865, it was one of the Orient Lines’ fastest ships, setting a record-breaking time of 70 days to travel from London to Adelaide. She also sailed to America. The ship was rebuilt for the 1950 Canterbury Centenary to resemble the Charlotte Jane (one of the first four ships to bring Europeans to settle in Canterbury). Then, in 1951, it was beached on Quail Island and stripped of anything of value. The ship has been covered and emerging from the tide for 71 years now.

If you are keen and own a boat of any sort, you can access the island using your own steam. If you are a visitor like we were, there is a regular ferry service from Lyttelton Wharf. Ensure you know when the last ferry leaves Quail Island to return to Lyttelton. 

For more information on our time in Lyttelton, read – A-Z NZ Location – Lyttelton.

Yes, I previously missed Q, which was supposed to be way back after A-Z NZ Locations – Pounawea Estuary, so here it is now. It always pays to check what’s been written on previous posts, and it’s been one of those weeks.

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Published by Suzanne

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31 thoughts on “A-Z of NZ Locations – Quail Island”

            1. Haha, scary possum, luckily that one had a good ending or it wouldn’t be so funny. To be honest, I did that once, just went through one and it scared the daylights out of me. Full concentration after that incident 😉

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  4. (Not sure whether this is a duplicate. I did post a comment but it just seemed to disappear)

    A fascinating slice of history, Suzanne and an amazing photo of what remains of the Darra

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    1. Sarah, thanks, and from certain vantage points, it looks connected to the mainland. Yes, it’s a small 81 ha (200 acres) island. Taking approximately 3 hrs to walk around the island.

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    1. I’m not sure, as we didn’t see any. Māori knew Quail Island as Ōtamahua, the ‘place to gather sea-bird eggs’ so that could include varied birds.

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    1. No Eilene it’s not inhabited. I wouldn’t imagine it would be a pleasant place to live as the wind whips through there with vengeance. I think with heritage places it all comes down to funding and I suppose the ship wasn’t a priority? Just a guess.

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