Quail Island (Ōtamahua in Māori, sometimes also known as Te Kawakawa) is a small uninhabited island within Lyttelton Harbour in the South Island of New Zealand, close to Christchurch. The island was given its European name by Captain Mein Smith who saw native quail here in 1842; though they were already extinct by 1875. 'Ōtamahua' has the meaning of a 'place where children collect sea eggs'.