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Story: Auckland places

Motuihe escape

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Motuihe escape

In the 19th century Motuihe became a quarantine station, and during the First World War (1914–18) it was an internment camp for enemy aliens. One of its most famous prisoners was a German count, Felix von Luckner (centre, with stick). He escaped soon after his internment in 1917, but was recaptured in the Kermadec Islands.

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Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira

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How to cite this page

Margaret McClure, Auckland places – Gulf islands, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/16092/motuihe-escape (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Margaret McClure, published 2 March 2009, updated 5 August 2016.