2020: DAY 24
SMH p2
BUBONIC PLAGUE
(p3)
YESTERDAY'S CASES
WORK IN QUARANTINED AREAS
RATCATCHING OPERATIONS
- letter asking why Erskine St area still blocke doff.
LIFE HISTORY OF THE PLAGUE BACILLUS
EFFECTS OF CULTURE ON FORM
- detailed info on microbiology of disease. (Who could read it?)
- another letter from Woolllahra Mayor abt "so-called sanitary committee"
FEDERATION - 2 AMENDMENTS TO C'WEALTH BILL
POSiITION OF WA
THE PUBLIC HEALTH: A SUGGESTION (letter to ed from A. Watson-Munro MD - suggesting formation of a society for prevention of disease -> quotes "the poet" - "Sweet are the uses of adversity/Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous/Wears yet a precious jewel in his head"
THE SIEGE OF WEXFORD ST - (p7 - following reports of the Boer War :
"Splash–whack ! " went the bombardment of a succession of queer little shells against the walls of the houses in the quarter. As they flattened themselves out they showed that they were of that grim kind known as Government Proclamations, a species of missile that it is difficult to reply to. Opening hostilities by this formidable discharge, the enemy quickly brought up reinforcements in the shape of cartloads of timber.
" Bang, bang," went the clatter of a hundred hammers as barricades upreared their mushroom front. Minions of the law in swift and stealthy fashion took up their positions at various points of exit, and lo, and behold, the kingdom of Wexford was entrapped – the siege had begun.
So sudden had been the attack that many inhabitants were taken unawares, and for a little while failed to properly grasp the change that had come about. A few minutes before they had roamed peacefully through their circumscribed domain free and independent citizens, and now, in the twinkling of an eye, they were walled in and presented as exhibits to the wondering gaze of the gathering crowd without. '
" Me want to get out,'' said a, meek almond eyed Chinaman with a bland smile to a stalwart policeman who barred the street end.
" You must stay where you are," the officer answered gravely but firmly. Some young Europeans approached and in more emphatic language, as members of a superior race, declared their intention of forcing a passage, but threats and cajoleries were alike of no avail. The motto that seemed to sum up the position of both parties was – " j'y suis, j'y reste."
When the exact state of affairs was recognised those within the enclosed area philosophically accepted their lot, and indeed seemed rather to enjoy the novelty of the situation. An amused smile spread over their countenances. They took up positions on the pavement and on doorsteps, and with lofty mien surveyed the outside world with quite a new interest. It is surprising how a throw of the dice of circumstance lends a fresh significance to the most ordinary men and women and their surroundings. Passers-by in the street carne up to the barriers and stood rooted in fascination, gazing at their fellows inside us though they were fantastic objects belonging to some strange race. The houses, too, they regarded with gaze of awe, as though fully convinced that they were haunts of secret terror. As far us lightness of heart went the besieged had an easy superiority over the spectators without. …
Wexford-street and its neighbourhood form a great Chinese stronghold, and there was some interest in seeing how this race took to the quarantine yoke. It is said, with what truth I cannot declare, that the Chinese in this instance ably maintained their reputation for subtlety by being forewarned of the coming catastrophe, and leaving early in some numbers for the homes of their compatriots near at hand. Whether this was the case or not, a fair proportion were to be seen behind the barriers, imperturbable as is their wont, and bearing their characteristic enigmatic smile. One of their number furnished an exciting episode in the early history of the siege. Desiring his liberty, and spurning the terrors of the law, he leapt the barricade and made a dash for freedom, An officer was quickly after him, but he was not fleet-footed enough for the wily celestial, who made his safe escape.
The police on duty were allowed to smoke, and it gave quite a festive air to the proceedings to see these custodians of law and order complacently puffing away at their pipes us they walked up and down the length of street allotted to them. The soothing influence of the tobacco seemed to impart a gracious air to their disposition and to incline them to be communicative with those on both sides of the barrier. They listened sympathetically to stories of hardship entailed in certain cases by the enforced retirement from the world, and pleasantly accepted the badinage of some of their prisoners. …
… People from quarantined houses abutting on the street came out of their dwellings and promenaded up and down the pavement, while their friends advanced right up to the gutter to talk with them. Handshakes were interchanged, and those in the street executed many little commissions for the imprisoned ones. Newspapers were brought to them, and sundry delicacies such as tea and fruit wore also passed across. With this exchange of courtesies going on, and the proximity it entailed between those within and those without the infected area, the quarantine that was imposed seemed somewhat of an anomaly. Except for the purpose of disinfecting and cleansing, the segregation of the area marked off was of little avail. For all practical purposes, those shut in might just us well have been allowed their full liberty, for their contact with the outside world was almost uninterrupted The moral effect, however, of the quarantine in impressing on all the gravity of attending to sanitary arrangements was probably not inconsiderable…
… What must the quaint, old-world, squat little mansions of this aristocratic quarter have thought of the rude awakening of their prehistoric sloth ! The fumes of opium and many other less definable odours some of them had learned to grow accustomed to and to rather relish, as well as the weird din of a Chinese orchestra and gabble of an excited crowd round the fan-tan table. But they shuddered at the harsh surprise of a copious hosing of water. At the first whiffs of disinfectant stuffs they gasped, and were fairly stifled when the crude pervading odours crept into every nook and cranny and worked their way into their very joints. It was an experience never to be forgotten by them. When to these inflictions there was added the further barbarity of partial demolition, and they felt their members being ruthlessly torn one from another, the cup of grief was full to the brim, and brick and rafter sighed out in mute appeal to the cruel executioners. Strange, penetrating blasts of air, and the inquisitive peeping of sickening rays of sunlight knocked them into a comatose state.
For many a long year to come gable will whisper to gable, and alley to alley, in the stillness of the night, of the terrible persecutions of that never-to-be-forgotten time.
50 Wexford St, Rear - Chinese bedroom - Source: State Library of NSW