1789 Sydney smallpox outbreak explained

See main article: Smallpox in Australia. In April 1789, Sydney, Australia, experienced one of its most violent outbreaks of smallpox when the disease swept through Aboriginal and colonial Australians on the coast.^{[1] [2]} The outbreak began in early March with the first cases appearing in tribes living near Port Jackson. ^[3] Aboriginal communities had no preexisting immunity to smallpox, and suffered mortality rates of around 70%. ^[4]

Smallpox in Sydney

Aboriginal tribes on Arnhem Land first contracted smallpox when they made infectious contact with fishermen from southeast Asia.^[5] Governor Arthur Philip estimated that around half of the Aboriginal population around Sydney harbor died in the outbreak. ^[6]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Smallpox epidemic. National Museum of Australia. 9 July 2021.
2. Smallpox, the First Fleet, and Port Jackson Tribes . 2:14 . Chris Warren .
3. Web site: Sydney's smallpox outbreak of 1789 - Biological warfare against Aboriginal tribes . nationalunitygovernment.org . 2014 . 24 June 2019 .
4. Web site: National Museum of Australia - Smallpox epidemic. National Museum of Australia, Lawson Crescent, Acton Peninsula. nma.gov.au. en. 2020-03-24.
5. Book: Peter Hiscock. Archaeology of Ancient Australia. 12 December 2007. Routledge. 978-1-134-30440-0. 14.
6. Book: Hiscock, Peter. Archaeology of Ancient Australia. Routledge. 2008. 978-0-203-44835-9. Abingdon, UK. 14.