Illness & disease
Archives behind the scenes - bubonic plague
Did you know there was an outbreak of plague, in Sydney, at The Rocks, in 1900?
Bubonic plague index 1900-1908
The Register of Cases of Bubonic Plague 1900-1908 records the names and residences of those suffering from the plague and their fate as to whether they died or recovered from this fearful disease
Bubonic plague register
An introduction to the Bubonic plague pandemic and records related to the Sydney outbreak in 1900–1908
Convict Sydney
Cupping glasses & scarificator
These cupping glasses are of the type that was used in the treatment of convict patients at the General ‘Rum’ Hospital
Pneumonic Influenza (Spanish Flu), 1919
The pandemic threw the people and Government of the State into a community effort rivalled only by that of the recent war
Purging Pestilence – Plague!
The Bubonic Plague hit Sydney in January 1900. Spreading from the waterfront, the rats carried the plague throughout the city. Within eight months 303 cases were reported and 103 people were dead
Rouse Hill Estate and the Spanish flu of 1919: a year of contradictions
In 1919, Spanish flu gripped the world. In 2020, as we confront COVID-19, the media headlines and reports from the earlier pandemic are all too familiar.
Convict Sydney
Rum Hospital glassware
These medicine bottles, irrigation syringe and measuring glass fragments were used for the treatment of convict patients
When masks were compulsory
When thinking about the impact of COVID-19, it’s timely to reflect on an earlier pandemic that affected every aspect of life, including at our places