Ripapa Island ( mi, Rīpapa), also known earlier as Ripa Island, located just off the shore of

Lyttelton Harbour Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō is one of two major inlets in Banks Peninsula, on the coast of Canterbury, New Zealand; the other is Akaroa Harbour on the southern coast. It enters from the northern coast of the peninsula, heading in a pred ...

, has played many roles in the history of New Zealand. A Māori fortified pā there played a key role in an internal struggle for the South Island

Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim), Mount Mahanga and Kahurangi Poi ...

tribe in the early 19th century. Between 1873 and 1885, the island hosted a

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

station, which was also used as a temporary prison for members of the

Parihaka Parihaka is a community in the Taranaki region of New Zealand, located between Mount Taranaki and the Tasman Sea. In the 1870s and 1880s the settlement, then reputed to be the largest Māori village in New Zealand, became the centre of a major camp ...

Māori settlement in

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

. Fort Jervois was built in 1886 as part of system of defences against a feared Russian invasion. The fort was in military use until the end of World War I, and again during World War II. It is the most complete Russian-scare fort still existing in New Zealand.

19th century Māori history

Ripapa Island was a perfect location for a pā (a fortification built by the Māori) and chief Taununu of the Ngāi Tahu tribe built one there in the early 19th century. In the 1820s, Taununu faced a fierce fight with another Ngāi Tahu group, in what was to be known as the Kai huanga feud. Kai huanga, meaning "eat relatives", refers to the cannibalistic nature of the feud and that those they fought and ate were close relatives, even getting to a point where cousin would eat cousin. The Ngāi Tahu tribe continued to occupy the island until around 1832. Prior to this, chief Te Whakarukeruke, who had been occupying Ripapa Island, left to help defend

Kaiapoi Kaiapoi is a town in the Waimakariri District of the Canterbury region, in the South Island of New Zealand. The town is located approximately 17 kilometres north of central Christchurch, close to the mouth of the Waimakariri River. It is con ...

from

Te Rauparaha Te Rauparaha (c.1768 – 27 November 1849) was a Māori rangatira (chief) and war leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe who took a leading part in the Musket Wars, receiving the nickname "the Napoleon of the South". He was influential in the original ...

. After Kaiapoi fell, Te Rauparaha overran a number of pā on and around

Banks Peninsula Banks Peninsula is a peninsula of volcanic origin on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It has an area of approximately and encompasses two large harbours and many smaller bays and coves. The South Island's largest cit ...

, including the pā on Ripapa Island. The island was never again occupied by Māori.

Quarantine station and prison

Between 1873 and 1885, the island was used as a

station for ships arriving from Britain to the nearby port in Lyttelton. In 1880 the quarantine buildings were used as a prison, notably for members of the

Māori settlement in

during its

passive resistance Nonviolent resistance (NVR), or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, const ...

campaign against the surveying and selling of its land by the government.The Taranaki Report: Kaupapa Tuatahi by the Waitangi Tribunal, chapter 7.
/ref> The quarantine buildings were dismantled and moved to Quail Island in 1885, to be replaced by a coastal defence fort on Ripapa.

Fort Jervois

A walled fort, initially named Fort Ripa, was built on Ripapa in 1886 as part of a nationwide coastal defence system constructed due to the Russian scare, a fear that Russia would invade New Zealand. One of four fortifications set up to protect Lyttelton Harbour, it was renamed Fort Jervois after Lieutenant General Sir William Jervois in 1888. Four

disappearing gun A disappearing gun, a gun mounted on a ''disappearing carriage'', is an obsolete type of artillery which enabled a gun to hide from direct fire and observation. The overwhelming majority of carriage designs enabled the gun to rotate back ...

s were installed by 1889. The fort was occupied by the New Zealand army until the end of World War I, during which it housed some prisoners of war, including

Felix von Luckner Felix Nikolaus Alexander Georg Graf von Luckner (9 June 1881, Dresden – 13 April 1966, Malmö), sometimes called Count Luckner in English, was a German nobleman, naval officer, author, and sailor who earned the epithet ''Der Seeteufel'' (the ...

. It was again garrisoned during World War II. The fort is currently the home of two extremely rare guns. One is a BL 8-inch gun (one of only 12 left in the world), which is still in working order, though there are no shells left for such a weapon. It also holds a smaller BL 6-inch gun. However, at the first test shot the recoil system failed, with the result that the barrel cracked and most of the rest of the gun was damaged and was returned to England for repairs. A test fire in 1939 cracked the mounting. Though these are the only two guns currently in place at Fort Jervois, there are emplacements for another two guns. These two guns are on the island but have been partially destroyed. The island has been under the control of the

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

since 1990. Fort Jervois is classed as a Category I historic place by

Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...

, and has been considered "actively managed" by the Department of Conservation. It is the most complete Russian-scare fort still existing in New Zealand. The

June 2011 Christchurch earthquake The June 2011 Christchurch earthquake was a shallow magnitude 6.0 earthquake that occurred on 13 June 2011 at 14:20 NZST (02:20 UTC). It was centred at a Hypocenter, depth of , about 5 km (3 mi) south-east of Christchurch, which had p ...

damaged Fort Jervois and it was closed for some time. Remedial repairs were made, and the island reopened in November 2019, with public ferry services from Lyttelton wharf resuming in 2020.

References

External links

Ripapa Island Historic Reserve
Department of Conservation {{Authority control Uninhabited islands of New Zealand Islands of Canterbury, New Zealand Quarantine facilities in New Zealand Forts in New Zealand New Zealand in World War I World War I sites in New Zealand World War II sites in New Zealand Military history of New Zealand during World War II Prisons in New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Category 1 historic places in Canterbury, New Zealand

19th century Māori history

Quarantine station and prison

Fort Jervois

See also

References

External links