Quail Island as a Leprosy Colony

Between 1906 and 1927, Ōtamahua Quail Island was the South Island's only leprosy colony, holding 14 men. Leprosy, or Hansen's Disease, has been known for thousands of years, and before modern medicine, it was widely misunderstood as highly infectious. This led to sufferers being ostracized, partly because it can cause disfiguring skin lesions, loss of extremities due to nerve damage, and declining muscle strength, sometimes leading to blindness. Public fear was made worse by racial prejudice, especially against Chinese and Polynesian people.

New Zealand health authorities in the early 20th century adopted isolation practices, similar to other Western countries. The first man diagnosed with leprosy in Ōtautahi Christchurch to be isolated here was Will Vallane in 1906. He spent 18 months mostly alone, even as his eyesight and mobility worsened, though a matron on the island did provide his meals. He was first housed in old quarantine barracks, but a purpose-built cottage was built for him a year later. A second man joined him in 1908, and a third in 1909.

As the population grew, more small cottages were built. This bay, now called Skiers Bay, could be pleasant in summer, but in winter, it lost the sun behind a ridge as early as 2 pm. The men received regular visits from Dr. Upham from Lyttelton, and they gardened, swam when their health allowed, listened to the radio, and kept pets like canaries, a parrot, and even tamed wild island rabbits. There were occasional church services, family visits, and humanitarian delegations, with visitors keeping at least six feet away, marked by white picket fences around the cottages. Their main support was each other, though their situation sometimes created tensions that threatened their camaraderie.

The enforced isolation clearly weighed on the men, especially those whose health was failing. A few were released as cured, like George Philips, who was declared free of the disease but had to wait 18 months for clearance. He couldn't stand the wait and absconded from Moepuku Point, arriving at Orton Bradley's house dressed as a clergyman. He made a phone call and was last seen heading to Christchurch in a taxi, where he changed his name and disappeared.

Two men died here from leprosy. Ivon Crispen Skelton, a 25-year-old Samoan-born man, died on October 20, 1923, and was buried on the headland facing Aua King Billy Island. His grave was originally surrounded by a picket fence and was part of an archaeological dig in 2015, but no remains were found, leading to the theory that his grave, near the cliff edge, was washed away in a storm. His resting place is now marked by a simple wooden cross. The other death was Te Iringa, a 55-year-old from Kirikau Pā on the Whanganui River, who died and was buried in 1922. His gravesite is not documented or marked.

In 1925, the eight remaining men were moved to Makogai Island in Samoa, joining 300 other sufferers, which offered a greater sense of community. Five of them never left Makogai, including Will Vallane, the original sole resident of Quail Island. He died there in 1937, in his early 60s, after spending over 30 years in isolation. It's tragic because leprosy actually has low pathogenicity; 95 percent of people exposed to the bacterium don't develop the condition. With advances in Western medicine in the 1940s, leprosy became curable with early diagnosis and Multidrug Therapy. Looking back,