Sketches of the Small-Pox Scare in Sydney.

Rare engraving with multiple views highlighting the crisis of the small-pox epidemic in the Rocks, Sydney in 1881.

Smallpox epidemic 1881:
At 2.50am on 29 April 1881, the steamship Brisbane under the command of Captain J Beddell, arrived in Port Jackson from Hong Kong. On board were 106 Chinese men in steerage, plus cargo which included oil, preserves, tea, cigars, opium and rolls of matting. The Brisbane proceeded to North Head, the site of Sydney’s quarantine station, with a case of smallpox on board. The smallpox victim and several other men were transferred to the hospital ship Faraway, while the remainder stayed on board the Brisbane until the captain was granted pratique (health clearance) by the quarantine health officer some weeks later. On 25 May, three weeks after the Brisbane’s arrival, Dr Haynes G Alleyne, chief health officer and head of Sydney’s quarantine service, was notified of a possible case of smallpox. The infant daughter of On Chong, a Chinese merchant from Lower George Street, had come down with fever and a rash, prompting a call to a local doctor. Dr Alleyne sent one of his government medical officers to examine the child. As it turned out, there was no clear diagnosis, so the decision was made for the medical officer to monitor the child on a daily basis. Sydney newspapers soon heard of the case and began asking why the government medical officer was allowed to move freely about the city when he made daily visits to On Chong’s place. If the infant’s case turned out to be smallpox, the doctor could well be spreading the disease. The papers also wanted to know why the premises weren’t under quarantine

From the original edition of the Illustrated Sydney News.