How ports, petticoats and politics shaped public health in WA

It is hard to imagine the amount of research she must have done for this talk, but she managed to pack over 100 years of history into about 25 minutes.  It was entertaining and informative and gave us a different perspective on what it must have been like for the very young colony to grapple with the huge issues surrounding public health.

 

Carole indicated that the first Public Health Act was dated 1886; followed up with another updated version in 1911 - and finally over 100 years later it will be replaced by the Public Health Bill some time in the not too distant future.  It seems that to justify WA becoming a state we had to prove that we could 'stand on our own 2 feet' - and that is just what we did.  From a 'village' of only 40,000 people the population jumped to over 180,000 by the end of the 1800's.  This was largely due to the finding of gold in the Kimberleys and in The Goldfields.

 

Once the Draft Constitution for the new state had been signed by Queen Victoria it was brought out to Western Australia by Sir William Robinson on the Royal Mail Steamer.  He landed in Albany and then had to get it to Perth.  He set off for Perth on this new train and watched as locals lit bonfires every 3 kilometres along the track to celebrate.  At a number of places en route Sir William got off and read the Constitution to the people who had gathered to see him.  

 

WA's first public health challenge was a feast held on the Esplanade for some 6,000 people when the they too joined in the celebrations.  How to feed that many people with the quantities of food required - without it spoiling.  A challenge indeed.    At the time Public health was about dealing with:  central and local boards of health; unwholesome food; infectious diseases and hospitals; nuisances, dwelling houses, miscellaneous and legal proceedings.  At the time their biggest fears included dealing with:  smallpox, cholera, plague and yellow fever.  At the time most cellars in buildings had dirt floors which could be inspected on suspicion of them containing stagnant water.  Other problems included: overcrowded housing; unventilated workrooms and factories and poorly drained streets.  Some interesting facts to note of the time was that you could be fined 5 pounds (about 14 days of work) for selling contaminated bedding or infecting people in a public place; or one hundred pounds (or up to 2 years in prison) if you were caught throwing "night soil" into the river!

 

Problems also arose in the gold fields as there was no access to water.  The health of the people suffered and some 2,000 people died during a typhoid epidemic because it appeared that there were no sanitary measures enforced.  Water became a desperate need so CY O'Connor's pipeline was a life saver; not just to the people but to the steam trains that made their way between Perth and Kalgoorlie.  Some 900,000 litres a day was required and at $6.00 a litre - it was pretty precious stuff.

 

Whilst Coolgardie blossomed (over 700 mining companies were registered there in 1898; and some 60,000 people attended a Mining Exhibition there) back in Perth they were required to make changes to the port.  Despite a very long jetty off Bather's Beach, the depth of water was still only 7 metres, so any ships coming in to trade required smaller boats be put into service to offload any cargo and bring it into the dock.  As a result,work commenced on building the harbour in Fremantle that we know today.  Gold brought more trade and in the space of only 15 years the annual revenue for WA had increased from 424,213 pounds in 1885 to over three million pounds in 1900.

 

Many men, young and old, headed up to the goldfields at this time leaving behind wives and mothers to look after children.  The women at the time had no voice and decided to take action because they wanted better sanitation, cleaner water, better street lighting, safer food AND they wanted their voice to be heard.  Women from the Women's Christian Temperance Union of WA, The Karrakatta Club and the Women's Franchise League all battled for better conditions and eventually reforms were made so that by 1899 women over 21 could vote; but could not stand for Parliament until the 1920's. 

 

Carole outlined the rocky road that was taken to get the 1911 health act through Parliament - having taken some 6 years of debate before it was enacted.  There were 13 parts, with 300 sections to it.  The new Bill which is due soon has 19 parts with 311 sections. 

 

In finishing her talk, Carole also mentioned the WA Womens' Hall of Fame.  Each year people can be nominated to be listed on the WA Womens' Hall of Fame, so if you know of anyone who you think should be nominated please head to www.wawomenshalloffame.com.au as nominations close of February 5.

 

Thank you Carole for a most interesting talk this morning.