Matiu/Somes island is the largest island in Wellington harbor. Its only a 20 min boat ride from the city making it a great little adventure, not too big but not too small.
This island ha a wild history. I could list all the info that's on Wikipedia but instead I'm going tell you what impressed and surprised me the most.
- The island was an internment camp during World War II for enemies - as with most internment camps, you didn't have to be an enemy combatant, just have an accent and a foreign way about you. The museum wanted it to be known that people living on the island during this time did 40% work and 60% play- it was a pretty nice life.
- The island has also served as a quarantine facility for both humans and animals.
- This one Japanese man was quarantined on a little piece of land just off the island because they thought he might have leprosy. There didn't seem to be any hard evidence that he in fact had it but I get it, leprosy sucks and is contagious. This is where the story got really messed up. The government basically left him there to die with no shelter, medical supplies, or food rations. When the weather was good a man would row his boat out and leave some food for him but hey, this is Wellington, the weather is or miss most of the time so who know how often this guy was fed. About 2-3 months later they found the man dead from what seemed like TB or pneumonia. In a little cave where he was living, they found a few crates he had stacked together and a cup. What's worse, based on the narrative, the government really didn't seem to think they did anything wrong because, well he died 2-3 months later right? Forget exposure and hunger - he must had something.
- There are penguins on this island!!! Cute little blue ones. I didn't see any because they were out playing and catching dinner. Next time I'll get a photo of one for sure.
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| Great bathroom near the Wharf |
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| Night time in Wellington when we arrived back from the island |
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