Questão 20 - UCS Verão 2021

Instrução: A questão refere-se ao texto abaixo.

 

Tasmania’s beautiful quarantine site

by Dr Tiana Templeman

 

[1]  When World War One broke out in 1914, the German crew of the SS Oberhausen were declared
“enemy aliens” and were caught by a band of 11 Australian naval reservists. Captain Johann Meir and his
sailors, who were getting timber in Port Huon in Tasmania at the time, could have topped up with fuel and
got out of port. Instead, they stayed, as it was safer than returning to Germany to fight. After piercing their
[5]   ship’s liquor casks and sharing the booze with their captors, all of them arrived in the capital, Hobart, rolling
drunk. The reservists had some explaining to do, while the Germans were eventually sent to an internment
camp at Bruny Island Quarantine Station. Conditions at the camp were reasonably good and Captain Meir
was reported as saying, “What better place to spend the war?”. He wasn’t the first, nor would he be the
last, to experience the freedom and isolation of Bruny Island.
[10]   The tiny island located off Tasmania’s south-east coast has played a significant role in Australia’s
history as its isolation made it the perfect location for quarantine. From 1884, passengers arriving in
Tasmania had to be disease-free before they were allowed into the general community. Instead of being
confined to a ship, they served out their isolation period and underwent health checks ashore at Bruny
Island Quarantine Station.
[15]   Prior to this, Europeans passing by as early as 1777, as vessels travelling around the Cape of Good
Hope in South Africa often used Adventure Bay on Bruny Island as a safe anchorage for replenishing
supplies such as water and wood. However, European occupation of the Quarantine Station site didn’t
occur until 1856, with the arrival of the Cox family.
Anthony Cox was transported from England to Hobart as a convict in 1833 for housebreaking. He was
[20]   granted a conditional pardon in May 1849 and married convict Jane Daly soon after. As an ex-convict “of
good conduct and disposition to industry”, he received a 19-acre parcel of land from the government on
the site that would become the Bruny Island Quarantine Station. Cox and his family cut firewood for a living
on land that was widely regarded as “very poor”, yet their home, Shellwood Cottage, was neatly fenced
and surrounded by flowers. Compared to the hardships of convict life, the freedom and serenity of Bruny
[25]   Island was akin to paradise.
The land was eventually sold, and the Bruny Island Quarantine Station was built in the mid-1800s to
avoid the spread of contagious diseases such as typhoid and smallpox that were prevalent at the time. The
opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 saw an increase in international travel, and thousands of immigrants
travelling to Australia on passenger ships to start a new life in the colonies were quarantined on Bruny
[30]   Island.
Three of the original buildings from this time remain and can be seen today. The cleansing room
provided pedestrian access to the isolation block and was enclosed by a 3m fence, which also surrounded
the Health Officer’s quarters and the hospital, observation wards, laundry and mortuary. The mortuary was
divided into two sections, with one half used for disinfection and fumigation of passengers; and the other
[35]   used as a morgue that fortunately saw little use over the years.
When Captain Johann Meir and his sailors arrived at the Quarantine Station in January 1915, it had
been set up as a German internment camp. The crew were put to work with other Germans cutting wood
and clearing land. There were around 70 internees in total and just 15 guards to patrol almost 2km of
shoreline and a long fence. The task of stopping them from escaping would have been impossible – had
[40]   the prisoners actually wanted to leave.
Perhaps it was because they proved to have such little interest in escaping that the prisoners were
given so much freedom. They often worked outside the Quarantine Station boundaries and constructed
their own buildings, including several camps well away from the main base. According to Kathy Duncombe,
researcher and committee member of the Friends of Bruny Island Quarantine Station, one of their biggest
[45]   challenges was boredom. “They spent their time chopping down trees, which were sold, but also because
it gave them something to do. Some of them made ships in bottles to pass the time.”
After the Germans were moved to Holsworthy Internment Camp in Sydney in 1915, things were quiet
at the Quarantine Station – but not for long. The end of World War One coincided with the beginning of
the Spanish influenza pandemic. Instead of coming home to victory parades and being reunited with
[50]   their families, Tasmanian soldiers returning from war spent seven days in quarantine at Bruny Island with
hundreds of other men. While they were initially disappointed with the delay in their return home, many later
realized it was the best thing that could have happened. They could get their land legs after many days at
sea and talk to others who had experienced the horrors of war. This was good for the men psychologically
as many didn’t want to burden their families. There was swimming, fishing, football, a movie tent, and a
[55]   boxing ring, which helped the soldiers release anger and frustration. Spirits were lifted by care packages

from the Red Cross Society containing luxuries such as cigarettes, books and fruit.
More about the Quarantine Station’s history continues to be discovered, like the German internee’s
diary a 90-year-old man who speaks the same German dialect is translating. There are 578 pages filled
with beautiful handwriting and photographs of things we had never seen before. History never stands still,
[60]   there is always more to be told.

Disponível em: http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200505-tasmanias-ruggedly-beautiful-quarantine-site. Acesso em: 6 maio 2019

Segundo o texto, é correto afirmar que a