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Smallpox
This collection is a curated selection of correspondence between the Town Clerk, Board of Health, City authorities and citizens around smallpox prevention measures such as reporting of cases, isolation and quarantining of the sick and improved sanitation.
The first case of smallpox in Sydney was reported in 1881. There were limited cases and low mortality (163 cases, with 41 fatalities) but the outbreak prompted widespread panic and heightened responses from authorities. The outbreak precipitated the state government’s Infectious Diseases Supervision Act 1881, which introduced compulsory notification of smallpox and other infectious diseases and the formation of the NSW Board of Health which worked with municipal councils to improve district health.
To find even more relating to other outbreaks and epidemics in Sydney, try the search tool.
CollectionEpidemics and Outbreaks CollectionMemorandum - City Health Officer GF Dansey reporting no recent smallpox but increasing typhoid, 1882
Memorandum - City Engineer - silt pits in Darling Harbour and Blackwattle swamps and epidemics, 1882