GenBiome 2024 Team Outing at Q Station
The Quarantine Station is where a bunch of the Genbiome team were found having a good time isolated from the crazy Manly crowds recently!
It was a very hot day surging with beach seekers and we made our way to this very interesting spot of Sydney's historic past. The Genbiome team heard about how sea farers and plague struck travellers from had to isolate at the Quarantine station. We have different versions of that today!
This practice of quarantine (derived from the Italian words quaranta giorni which means “forty days”) was standard practice there from the 14th century. From the 1830s until 1984, migrant ships arriving in Sydney with suspected contagious disease stopped inside North head and offloaded passengers and crew into quarantine to protect local residents.. Our guided tour showed us round the disinfectant showers, the 'cutting edge' 1918 autoclaves, the hospital and even the morgue!! Our excellent guide knew we were a medical team and quizzed us on our microbiology knowledge.
We sure are glad our medicine has moved ahead today and there are much more progressive ways to look after our health and immunity. There is so much to learn from the past. We also had a bit of a laugh that one of our group had actually been quarantined there before in 1983, just before it closed in 1984, when they came off a flight from overseas!
If you have not had a tour of the Q Station in Manly yet, this part of Sydney's history is worth a visit with its beautiful little public beach that feels private, its museum, wharf café and Boiler restaurant.
