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Australia vs the Spanish flu Proportionally, fewer white Australians died in the 1918-20 influenza pandemic than across most places around the world. This is partly for the same reasons that Australia is currently doing better at containing the coronavirus COVID-19, with fewer fatalities than many other countries. With some exceptions, back in 1919, Australian ports were closed and internal movement was contained by controversially closing state borders and closing down schools, theatres, shops and hotels (but not the footy). Many people were thrown out of work. Country towns also quarantined themselves, even stopping passengers alighting from trains. Travellers needed permission to move around and even returning soldiers from First World War battlefields were soon stopped from going home. As the virus was already rampant through Europe during the last year of the war, Australian authorities had plenty of time to prepare as the troop ships starting returning in late 1918. Quarantine relied upon honesty in disclosure and rigourous screening, which was not uniformly implemented, so the virus quickly entered Australia and spread across the country.
Jeannie Rea Victoria University
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Nurses leaving Blackfriars Depot, NSW during flu epidemic (NSW State Archives)
Sentry
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may 2020
