quarantine

Teerk Roo Ra, place of many shells by Peter Ludlow In the 1850s, Chinese miners who flocked to the goldfields brought with them the bacterial disease, leprosy, which then quickly transferred to the Aborigines and South Sea Islanders who had little natural immunity to the disease. Today, the disease is known as Hansen’s Disease (after Armauer Hansen, a Norwegian who discovered the bacteria that cause it). Peel Island is located off the coast of Queensland in Australia. In 1907 the island was designated as a quarantined hospital for those with leprosy - a so called 'lazaret'. Hundreds from the mainland were sent there in exile for a life sentence, with over half dying in isolation. Leprosy sufferers were often isolated from their families, with little, if any opportunity to say goodbye. When they arrived at the island they found themselves part of a multicultural community consisting of South Sea Islanders, Aborigines, Chinese, Europeans, and Queensland-born whites. There they were housed in four compounds: white males, white females, coloured males, and coloured females. In 1993, the lazaret was declared a heritage site, and the rest of the island a national park, however, a native title claim prevented the gazetting of the island as such. This was resolved in December 2007 when Peel was gazetted as Teerk Roo Ra (Place of Many Shells), a national park and a conservation park, jointly managed by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and the island’s traditional owners, the Quandamooka People. Today, Teerk Roo Ra remains a popular destination for boaties who visit Horseshoe Bay to enjoy its isolation for a day before returning home to the mainland at night – a simple privilege which no leprosy patient ever had. Source: www.secretbrisbane.com.au/home/2017/3/20/the-lazaret-at-p...

Just read the history of which this machine represents. So interesting, informative about the structural changes Sydney saw as a result. I just love the postings on this account.

see notes under