Today is the anniversary of the first case of Black Death in Australia.

It was in a little house, No 10 Ferry Lane, 100 years ago today, that Sydney's first victim of bubonic plague was discovered.

Within a week a sense of panic and terror engulfed the city.

Former prime minister Billy Hughes, who represented an inner-city electorate, recalled with perhaps some hyperbole that "before noon, alarm bordering on panic had spread throughout the community, and by nightfall the trains to the mountains were crowded with citizens fleeing from the infected city. The columns of the press were full of stories well calculated to arouse the fears of the people."

The outbreak that hit Sydney in 1900 was by far the most significant episode of plague to affect Australia and one of the great social disasters of the 19th century Australian history.

The epidemic led to important changes in public health, to a better understanding, management and control of infectious disease, to a greater appreciation of urban sanitation and housing.

The hysteria caused by the coming of the plague was played out across the nation. All states except Tasmania recorded cases, and outbreaks continued throughout the decade and into the 1920s. Between 1900 and 1925 there were 12 significant outbreaks involving 27 localities, with a total of 1371 cases and 535 deaths.

The contagion was introduced to Australia by infected rats aboard overseas vessels berthed at Darling Harbour. People suspected of having contact with it were forcibly quarantined. Their businesses were boycotted, their houses stripped and fumigated (or torn down), their furniture broken - and everything covered in a thick coat of lime.

Infected areas were barricaded. Residents who weren't sent to quarantine were required to remain and carry out the work of cleansing, lime-washing, burning and in some cases demolish dilapidated buildings.

Curfews were imposed upon infected zones and peoples' rights to movement severely restricted. People turned to God or to dubious anti-plague 'cures', and those who could afford it fled.

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The above is a synopsis of The Australian Newspaper 'features' article Wednesday 19 January 2000

I think it is of interest in view of the various posts on this forum dealing with the potential of public panic when unusual events happen. I submit it for general interest and comment.

Regards from Down Under

-- Pieter (zaadz@icisp.net.au), January 19, 2000

Answers

Well, 100 years ago a pandemic ran amok starting at an international port of Sydney.
Next comes the Olympics when Sydney once more welcomes international visitation en masse.

Please leave your bugs at home.

The following viruses were reported to the VVCC in Australia during the month of December:

December 1999
======================================
Virus Total
====================================== Happy99 88
PrettyPark 87
Worm.ExploreZip.120495 63
W97M/Pri Family 37
Worm.ExploreZip 22
Back Orifice 20
W97M/Melissa Family 17
Win32.SubSeven.18 17
Win32.NewApt.Worm 16
W97M/Ethan Family 15
97M/Tristate family 14
NetBus 14
W97M/Marker Family 14
Win.CIH 12
Win95/Babylonia.11036 12
W97M/Class Family 10
Win32.SubSeven 10
W97M/Coldape Family 9
Win32.Mypics.Worm 9
Win95.Worm.Fix2001.12288 9
VBS/BubbleBoy 7
VBS.Freelinks 6
W97M/Groov Family 6
W97M/Thus Family 6
WIN.AOL.Buddy 5
X97M/Laroux Family 5
Stone 4
XM/IIS Family 4
Dmsetup 3
RedTeem 3
W97M/Chack Family 3
WM/Cap.A 3
Back Orifice 2000 2
Junkie 2
Monkey 2
Win32.Click 2
AntiCMOS 1
AOL.BuddyList 1
Picture.exe 1
TPE 1
W97M/Chantal Family 1
W97M/Ded.B 1
W97M/Opey.H 1
W97M/Story Family 1
W97M/Turn.A 1
W97M/Vmpck1.CN 1
Win32.ICQGreetings 1
Win32.PSW.Stealth.d 1
win32.thething.15 1
======================================
Total 571
======================================

Regards from Oz

-- Pieter (zaadz@icisp.net.au), January 19, 2000.

I like all these recent Australian posts here ....gives us proper recognition as a fully-fledged suburb of USA. Keep it up!

-- number six (Gilchrist@MCG.com), January 19, 2000.