Summary heading

Contents information

Function and purpose

This series comprises diaries recording the daily duty performed by each officer at the Quarantine Station.

The first diary of the series contains fairly detailed descriptive entries, such as the entry for July 26, 1898:

"Candle day. Willsher took Dr Tidswell to Manly 10.15am. Hay went for Dr Tidswell 5.30pm. White day off. Reported by Dr Tidswell for being under the influence of liquor last night. SS Bucephalus arrived 8.00am. Released 8.40am. Schooner came 8.00am with tons coal. Launch came with 10 tons of wood for station & 1 ton for stock dept. 4.00pm."

The entries become briefer later in the diary and record basically the duty performed by each officer that day. The other diaries likewise contain brief entries, listing which officer was on or off-duty that day or whether on leave, and the activity performed by that officer if present at the Quarantine Station. Examples of the daily activities performed, include: digging the garbage pit; cutting scrub; lopping trees; stock taking; cleaning specific rooms or areas; repairs of the premises or equipment; store duties; fumigation; cutting turf; grading the road; and general supervision. While there is some reference to ships' arrivals in the early diaries, this series does not record information relating to individual passengers nor to passengers as a whole.