HMAT ''Boonah'' was built in Germany in 1912 for the Australian trade, and known as the ''Melbourne''. In

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

at the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1914, she was seized by the

Commonwealth Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

, renamed ''Boonah'', and hastily converted to a troopship. In October 1918, near the end of the war, ''Boonah'' was the last Australian troop ship to leave

Fremantle, Western Australia Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

, bound for the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. Carrying about 1200 soldiers of the

First Australian Imperial Force The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 15 Aug ...

, she arrived in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

just three days after the

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was signed and on hearing the news, made arrangements to return home promptly. Before her departure however, local

stevedore A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number o ...

s from the

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

stricken city were used to load and unload supplies from the ship and in the course of doing so infected soldiers who were billeted in crowded conditions throughout the ship.

Return

Another troop ship, the ''Wyreema'' had departed South Africa ahead of the ''Boonah'' and remained in radio contact throughout the eastward return journey across the

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. The ''Wyreema's'' troop commanding officer, P.M. McFarlane wrote "''the troopship ''Boonah'' was two days behind us and we picked up her wireless messages nightly, detailing the daily increasing number of men suffering from pneumonia influenza. The Western Australian Commandant asked me to land twenty nursing sisters at the Quarantine Station. Volunteers were called for and there was not only a ready response but so many offered that it was necessary to place the names in a hat and draw the twenty required. They knew perfectly well the enormous risk they were taking. Yet they were eager to undertake the work and those whose names were not drawn were disappointed.''" By the time the ship had arrived back at Fremantle on 12 December, more than 300 cases had been reported. Commonwealth immigration authorities initially refused to allow the soldiers to disembark, knowing of the global pandemic which was raging, but which had spared Western Australia until then. After some delay in gaining approval, the ship anchored in

Gage Roads Gage Roads is an area in the outer harbour area of Fremantle Harbour in the Indian Ocean offshore from Fremantle, Western Australia. It incorporates a deep water sea channel as part of its function. Gage Roads serves as a shipping lane and ...

, and 300 of the most unwell soldiers were ferried ashore to the

Quarantine Station A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

Woodman Point Woodman Point is a headland on the west coast of Western Australia. It is located in the Perth suburb of Coogee, south-south-west of the city centre and south of Fremantle. It extends westward into the Indian Ocean. The coastal waters immed ...

, south of Fremantle. Three men died at the station on the first day. The condition of some deteriorated further, with more dying, as well as more than 20 nursing and medical staff becoming infected. Meanwhile, on board ship where most of the men remained, conditions were said to be deplorable. To prove that the disease had burnt itself out, a seven-day incubation period with no new cases was required, but new infections and deaths continued, caused by the cramped and close living conditions. With casualties growing each day, public outrage grew against the refusal of the immigration authorities to allow all of the soldiers ashore. "''How many cases of sickness and death are required to make the authorities do a commonsense thing?''" (The ''Daily News'', 14 December 1918). "''Enough of this inhuman incarceration of soldiers in the disease-stricken cubby-hole of a floating hell.''" (''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' editorial, 15 December 1918). Wrangling continued between the State Minister for Health, Sir

Hal Colebatch Sir Harry Pateshall Colebatch (29 March 1872 – 12 February 1953) was a long-serving and occasionally controversial figure in Western Australian politics. He was a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council for nearly 20 years, the ...

, and the federal immigration authorities, and tensions increased to the point that the returned servicemen's association made threats to storm the ship to take the sick men to shore. After nine days of acrimony, the ship was ordered to depart, despite breaking quarantine regulations, presumably to defuse the situation. Another 17 cases were discovered between Albany and

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and the remaining men were disembarked at

Torrens Island Quarantine Station Torrens Island is an island in the Australian state of South Australia located in the Adelaide metropolitan area in the Port River Estuary about northwest of the Adelaide city centre. Since European settlement of Adelaide in 1836, it has b ...

, just north of Adelaide, a similar facility to Woodman Point. No further deaths occurred and after being given the all-clear, the remaining men returned to their homes. A total of twenty-seven soldiers, and four nurses at Woodman Point, died of influenza during the crisis.

References

External links

Australian Light Horse Studies Centre
Transporting the 1st AIF.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boonah Crisis History of Western Australia Disease outbreaks in Australia 1918 in Australia 1918 health disasters 1918 disasters in Australia