Surplus People by Jim Rees

Author:Jim Rees [Rees, Jim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Europe, Ireland, Canada, General, Post-Confederation (1867-), Great Britain, Social Science, Disasters & Disaster Relief
ISBN: 9781848898516
Google: gQiWDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Gill & Macmillan Ltd
Published: 2014-03-04T03:09:54+00:00

A nurse at work in one of the Quarantine Station hospitals.

By 16 July, there were 3,500 people on the island, 2,000 of whom were in the hospital sheds. The death rate was between 30 and 40 a day.

Throughout August more and more vessels arrived. As soon as they dropped anchor, the signal requesting the medical officer was hoisted but it could be a day or two before a visit was made. Most of the ships had sailed from England and Ireland. Even those from England carried mostly Irish passengers. There were also ships from Germany. The place of origin of a vessel was immediately recognisable from its appearance. The German ships were neat and tidy, the passengers healthy and robust. Those from Liverpool and the ports of Ireland reeked of disease and death. The clothes which were hung on rigging to dry were as indicative as national flags. The wretched rags on most signified Irish passengers.8 As a well-known cartoon of the time depicted them, they were floating poorhouses. One example was the Virginius from Liverpool. Of her 476 passengers, only 318 survived. The master, mate, steward, and nine of the crew also perished with fever. The remainder of the crew had to rely on the weakened efforts of some of the passengers to complete the voyage.

On 24 August, the Colonist furled her sails and came to rest at the station, 43 days out of New Ross. Of her 453 passengers, 30 were sick, of whom thirteen were later to die in hospital. Twelve had been buried at sea. She was the last vessel from New Ross to stop at Grosse Île that year. The Dunbrody made a second trip across the Atlantic, arriving in the St Lawrence in September, as did the Tottenham and the George Ramsey. They carried twelve, five, and eight passengers respectively and there were no cases of sick so were allowed to proceed directly to Quebec city.

September saw a decrease in the number of ships arriving. For several weeks, worries had been voiced about the approaching autumn. None of the sheds on the island had been equipped to withstand the ravages of a Canadian winter. The island population fell as more and more patients were declared fit and sent to Quebec and Montreal in steamers. By 21 September, 1,276 remained. Three days later, the decision was taken to move them to the cities as soon as they became strong enough and before the close of the season. By 23 October, there were none left and preparations to seal the buildings against the severe weather got under way. The capacity of the station had increased eleven-fold since the beginning of the season six months earlier. It could now accommodate 2,300 people. On 3 November, it was officially closed for the winter.

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