Quarantine Island - Kamau Taurua

A twin volcanic island with neighbouring Goat Island - Rakirikiri in the middle of the Otago Harbour, Quarantine Island - Kamau Taurua has also borne the name Rabbit, St Martin and a variety of other titles. Together the the pair were also called Midway and Halfway. But these names have settled in to the arguably least attractive 'Goat' and "Quarantine.'

Regardless, the islands have been very useful, to Waitaha, Kati Mamoe, Kai Tahu and later to Pakeha. Kamau Taurua means 'the place where the nets are set', so fishing must have formed part of the Maori activity on the island. Placed directly between Portobello and Port Chalmers, both islands are of course useful for harbour-hopping. Pakeha took over here as early as 1861, clearing scrub to turn the island into a Quarantine station, one of the first in New Zealand. They built several wooden barracks.

These remained in use until 1924, meaning the station also holds the record for the longest such facility in continuous use in New Zealand. At least 9000 settlers are believed to have passed through here, with 72 having died due to illness. Most of the graves in the Island Cemetery are unmarked though there are records of the names and illnesses that led to the deaths.

The Military made use of the facilities during WW1 and there are interesting tales from this time, about smallpox, soldiers shot at dawn for some reason, and of course the 1918 influenza epidemic. Like the other harbour islands of Motuihe, Somes - Matiu and Quail Island - Otamahua, this island has attracted many picnic makers and day trippers over the years, via ferry and private boat. Farming proved unsuccessful here and the conservation efforts here took off earlier than some, in the 1950s. NZ History explains the heritage of the island.

The Community are managers now, in conjunction with the Department of Conservation, but do not live there with the exception of a caretaker couple, their community being based in the Knox Church. Their aims are environmental and historic restoration, sustainability and spirituality. Open weekends on the last weekend of each month, volunteers welcome for a day or multiple weeks. Activities include native tree planting and follow-up, walking trail maintenance, weed and pest control and heritage restoration. They have a lodge and a chapel which can be made available for groups.

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Image Credit: Tomas Sobek