For more than 150 years, the Woodman Point Quarantine Station was Western Australia’s main defence against deadly infectious diseases. From 1852 to 1979, the Quarantine Station was used to isolate those with smallpox, leprosy, bubonic plague, scarlet fever and Spanish Flu.
Woodman Point’s little-known past as not only a quarantine facility but also a detention centre, naval base, and emergency accommodation for those stranded by shipwreck, makes this site of great importance to WA’s medical, military, and maritime narrative.
Located just 20 kilometres from Fremantle, most of the former Quarantine Station still stands intact. Heritage-listed buildings include fumigation blocks, laundry, Isolation Hospital, and Australia’s oldest crematorium. Built in 1901, the crematorium was used specifically to cremate those who passed from infectious diseases such as the plague. The last cremations took place in 1943, after seamen succumbed to smallpox.
Ships that arrived with people showing signs of disease were required to fly a yellow flag, indicating the possible presence of infection aboard. Approximately 400 vessels were quarantined throughout the Station’s history, including the ‘HMAT Boonah’ in 1918. Carrying 1200 soldiers, the Australian troopship was bound for the Middle East, however returned home to Fremantle following the Armistice. On their journey, Spanish Flu swept through the Boonah. Over 300 cases were on board when the ship arrived at Woodman Point. The Quarantine Station was not equipped to deal with a crisis of that magnitude. Though knowing the risk to their own lives, many nurses volunteered for service, including Nurse Hilda Williams who died just 7 days after arriving at the Station. There are innumerable accounts of men and women who selflessly cared for those stricken by infectious disease at Woodman Point.
During outbreaks, the site was locked-down, with nobody allowed out or in. At one stage, armed guards stood around the perimeter to ensure nobody tried to leave the small community. Several staff and their families resided at the Station throughout its operation, making for unique childhoods!
As told by two museum volunteers with their own unique connections to the site, this presentation brings to light WA’s early infectious disease control measures.