Q Station
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A former quarantine station and hospital on the North Head peninsula next to the district of Manly in the north of Sydney, Australia. After the closure of the facilities in the 1980s the site was converted into a visitor attraction and hotel/conference centre. A museum at the Wharf Precinct of the complex explains the history of the site with all its dark aspects.
More background info: Convict and immigration ships carrying large numbers of people in cramped and under-ventilated quarters had long been at risk of bringing infectious diseases with them. Ships arriving in Sydney with outbreaks of typhus, smallpox or a number of other serious diseases would then be quarantined at sea until it was deemed safe to release its passengers and crew ashore. Keeping people on board under the conditions they had was not conducive to health, though. In response to this, then governor Darling introduced the “Quarantine Act of 1832”. Through this the North Head peninsula was declared an area for quarantine on land.
Initially there was no infrastructure in place and people arriving to be quarantined had to be housed in simple tents. As this was also inadequate for fighting diseases, from 1838 the first houses to accommodate them were built alongside a first hospital for treating those suffering from diseases.
Later, as large steam liners brought immigrants to Australia in three classes, the class system was also transferred to the quarantine station from 1873 onwards. Strictly segregated, separate quarters for first-, second- and third-class passengers were established, with fences and guarded gates between them. First-class came with such amenities that for those quarantined there it became more an enforced luxury holiday with fine dining and plush accommodation rather than the hardship of third class. Yet it was significantly harder still for a fourth class introduced at the turn of the century for so-called “Asiatics”, a rather racist sounding term applied to everybody of non-European descent. These people were housed in large dorms with no running water and only basic facilities and they had to prepare food for themselves. The class separation system was only given up in the 1950s.
The quarantine station developed a strict and efficient system of disinfection, isolation and vaccination, where possible. Arriving passengers first had to leave their luggage in a store by the wharf, where there was also a medical assessment room. Those diagnosed as ill were sent to the hospital. Those not (yet) ill but potentially carrying diseases were disinfected in the shower building, using water with added phenol in it (apparently with frequent side effects of skin irritation). The luggage brought ashore was also disinfected, namely in two large autoclaves, sealable chambers into which then pressurized steam was pumped for 15 minutes to eliminate any pathogens. The autoclaves were then opened from the other, “clean” side for distribution to the luggage owners’ accommodation, transported up the hill by means of a funicular. The whole process, and the running of the quarantine station in general, was overseen by staff who themselves were housed in a separate Administration Precinct. North Head Quarantine Station became the model for other such facilities established in different ports in Australia such as Hobart or Adelaide.
The length of quarantine varied according to the incubation period of the disease in question. Those not (yet) infected were strictly barred from visiting the hospital where those with the disease were treated in order to prevent a further spread of the disease. If anyone in the “healthy” accommodation parts did contract the disease, the quarantine time began anew. This meant the time spent at the quarantine station could range from just a couple of weeks to several months.
The busiest period came at the end of WW1 with the outbreak of the global “Spanish flu” pandemic of 1918/19. Thousands of returnees from the war brought the disease with them and were sent to quarantine stations. North Head Quarantine Station did not have anywhere near the required capacity and so accommodation in tents had to be re-established.
Naturally, as a place of serious diseases, there were also deaths here, especially in the earlier days of the quarantine station. The bodies were buried in designated cemetery sites on North Head. Only traces of these remain today, especially at North Head Fort (see below); and the museum (see below) also has several tombstones on display. Overall, however, the death toll was relatively low. 570 burials were carried out at North Head, not such a high number given that about 15,000 people went through the quarantine station in total. The last death occurred in 1962.
From the 1950s, thanks to improved public health systems, fewer and fewer people came to North Head to be quarantined, so some unused buildings were demolished and the rest upgraded to modern comfortable conditions. From the 1960s most arrivals at the station were people lacking the required vaccinations.
Also from around that time, the station assumed a secondary role as a centre for housing illegal immigrants awaiting deportation.
The last quarantine came in 1973 with the arrival of the tanker Sakura Maru that was suspected to be carrying smallpox.
In 1974 the largely empty facilities at North Head were used as temporary emergency accommodation for people made homeless in Darwin by Cyclone “Tracy”, the worst such disaster to ever hit Australian land.
The following year saw Operation Babylift by means of which orphaned children were evacuated from Saigon (today’s Ho Chi Minh City) towards the final stages of the Vietnam War. Hundreds of such orphans, ranging in age from babies to teenagers, were housed and cared for at North Head before being redistributed for adoption.
In 1982, a high-security isolation ward was established at Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital and so the quarantine station at North Head was no longer needed and closed down. It had been running continuously for 150 years, longer than any other such institution in Australia.
In 1984, ownership of the site was transferred from the Federal Government to the New South Wales state government, who then incorporated it into the Sydney Harbour National Park.
From the 1990s the historic buildings at the former quarantine station had begun to deteriorate so much that much refurbishment was required. But funds were lacking and so some private sector money was brought in by leasing the site to a private tourism company in 2006. After substantial restoration and adaptation work, the site opened to the public under the more marketable name “Q Station”, which it still has today.
What there is to see: When I visited Q Station together with my wife in August 2024 we timed our ferry to Manly so that we could catch the free shuttle bus from there to the former quarantine station. This minibus first stopped at the reception by the large car park for those staying overnight to sign in, but then continued all the way to the Wharf Precinct where we were dropped off.
Heading to the visitor centre on the actual wharf we passed some historic inscriptions in the rock including one for an RMS Lusitania. But this was dated 1895, so it can’t have been the Lusitania that was tragically sunk by a German submarine in WW1. Another inscription was for the RMS Niagara, dated October 1918 and with the specification “influenza” added, i.e. it had the “Spanish flu” on board.
At the visitor centre, which sells books and souvenirs, has a small cafe and a desk for booking tours, we only had a quick look around. We had already decided not to book one of the tours (see below) but to explore on a self-guided basis.
First of all we headed for the adjacent museum, also housed in the former luggage store. This begins with a mock-up of a ship supposed to represent the RMS Niagara. Inside is a reconstruction of a first-class cabin with a comfy bed, furniture, pictures on the walls and its own porthole. The mock-up of a third-class cabin in contrast had only simple bunk beds and no porthole (these cabins would have been in the bowels of the ship, possibly below the waterline).
The general exhibition features lots of items of luggage but also display cabinets containing medical equipment, crockery, old bottles and whatnot together with informative text-and-image panels. These tell the story of Q Station and the wider historical context (including first contacts of the colonialists with the local Aboriginal people). Some have specific themes, such as the development of medical practices and the advance of vaccinations. One section is specifically about the “Spanish flu” of 1918/19. There’s also a section illustrating the leisure time enjoyed by those quarantined at the station. And much of that apparently was spent at Quarantine Beach – and the section is wittily entitled “Life’s a Beach”. One section features a number of historic headstones taken from the station’s own burial sites.
After the museum we explored the rest of the Wharf District around the quarantine complex’s historic power station, which now houses the Boilerhouse restaurant and Engine Room bar. Both were closed at the time of our visit, so all we could do is try to peek in through the window.
But next door we were able to see the huge autoclaves installed for disinfecting the luggage of those to be quarantined at the station (see above). One of the autoclaves has a pile of suitcases in it for illustration. But it was the sealable doors that impressed me most – they are such aesthetically appealing pieces of historic technology (see photos below).
Next we went into the Bathhouse with its rows of shower cubicles providing some degree of privacy. Later we found the entrance cordoned off – so I presume we had just been lucky to get in shortly after a guided tour had been there.
Afterwards we climbed the steps to get to the Hospital Precinct. It consists of several single-storey buildings with wrap-around verandahs. A couple of the smaller houses here are now cottages for accommodating groups of people or families staying overnight for a night or two. One of the larger houses has a reconstruction of a historic hospital ward in it. At the time of our visit there were also several groups of kids in school uniforms on guided tours, and one of these groups blocked access to the hospital ward. So we patiently waited until they emerged and then tried to go inside ourselves. But the guide informed us that this part of the station was accessible only on guided tours. Nevertheless he allowed me to quickly take a couple of photos.
We did not climb the hill further to the Isolation Precinct, as that is these days also only for guest accommodation. The same applies to the former first-, second- and third-class precincts, which we also didn’t want to intrude on. But that way we also didn’t see the former Administration Precinct or the Governor Bourke Ballroom (though I’m not sure the interiors of any of those buildings would have been accessible to visitors exploring the site on a self-guided basis).
Instead we went back to the Wharf Precinct, I grabbed a drink from the cafe while my wife went for a swim off Quarantine Beach, and then we caught the shuttle back. This time it took us only as far as the reception, but it spared us having to climb the steep Funicular Stairs (where the luggage funicular used to be, presumably). Near the reception is a bus stop for regular public transport back to Manly and its ferry wharf for the journey back the Sydney’s Circular Quay.
All in all I found the excursion to Q Station worth it, despite the long journey there (though part of that is an added bonus in fact – see below). The museum may not be big but it is very informative and well laid out. Another highlight was seeing the magnificent autoclaves in the Wharf Precinct. To see more parts than I did you’d have to go on a longer guided tour. Q Station may not be particularly dark, but covers aspects otherwise rarely touched upon.
Location: on North Head peninsula to the east and south-east of the north Sydney suburb of Manly ca. 6 miles (10 km) north-east of the city centre (as the crow flies).
Google Maps locators:
Q Station visitor centre in the Wharf Precinct: [-33.8157, 151.2860]
Hospital Precinct: [-33.8163, 151.2862]
Reception and main car park: [-33.8126, 151.2937]
Manly Wharf: [-33.8001, 151.2840]
Access and costs: way out of the city centre of Sydney but not too hard to get to by public ferry and bus/shuttle; the museum is free, the guided tours are on the expensive side.
Details: In order to get to Q Station from Sydney city centre you first have to take the Manly Fast Ferry (line F1) from Circular Quay, which takes about 25 minutes (you do not have to tap your Opal card – see Sydney – on arrival at Manly or on your return at Circular Quay, because the ferry only stops at those two points but at no intermediate wharves). Theoretically you can also get to Manly by overland public transport but that takes disproportionally longer so is not recommended, unless you really cannot handle going on boats (I do know a couple of people who get seasick from the mere thought of going on a boat … fortunately I never get seasick myself).
From Manly you can get a free shuttle bus offered by Q Station, although that is very infrequent and on weekdays only the 10.30 a.m. departure is useful (or if you’re an early bird the 8.30 a.m.), as the afternoon departures wouldn’t really leave you enough time. At weekends there are more shuttle departures, e.g. at 11.30 a.m. The shuttle minibus has only 11 seats and it’s on a first-come-first-served basis, unless you have a booking (with accommodation). In Manly wait for the shuttle in front of the taxi rank on Belgrave Street by the little park at the bottom of The Corso. Get out not at the Q Station reception but at the terminus at the Wharf Precinct, which is also where the museum is located.
Alternatively there is also a regular bus, line 161 (departures are half-hourly), that goes from Manly to North Head and has a stop near the Q Station reception. From there you’d have to walk the last bit to get to the wharf. For the return journey you may be able to catch the Q Station shuttle at least to the reception from where you then have to get bus 161 back to Manly.
Theoretically you could also walk it all, but that would take at least 45 minutes each way and for the most part is not the most pleasant route.
Admission to the visitor centre and small museum is free.
Opening times of the museum and visitor centre are daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; the rest of the complex you can freely explore as and when you please, but the inside of the restored hospital and the Bathhouse are nominally only accessible on guided tours – though I was lucky enough to slip in between/after tour visits for a quick look (see above).
Q Station offers a number of guided tours, bookable online or at the visitor centre. The most interesting to readers of this website would probably be the one-hour overview “Quarantine Wander History Tour” (30 AUD) and the longer two-and-a-half hours “Disease & Burial History Tour” (60 AUD). The latter will have more emphasis on eerie and chilling stories. There are also “After Dark Tours”, with a focus on alleged ghosts and such paranormal stuff, and also nature- and wildlife-focused tours.
You can stay overnight at the former quarantine station, in parts that have been converted into a hotel (and conference centre), offering various categories from simple double rooms to suites and whole cottages. There’s a breakfast restaurant in the main hotel part, and the full-menu Boilerhouse Restaurant by the Wharf Precinct offering evening meals and lunch Friday to Sunday (although when I was there on a Friday at lunchtime it remained closed … maybe because it was in the winter season). Smaller daytime refreshments can be obtained at the self-service cafe by the visitor centre.
Time required: My wife and I spent some two hours at the site, but that included my wife going for a swim from Quarantine Beach while had a drink from the cafe at the wharf. The museum at the visitor centre requires no more than maybe half an hour. Guided history tours of the Wharf Precinct last an hour, and the longer “Disease & Burial History Tour” takes two and a half hours. Add to that the time you need to get there and back, the whole excursion takes the better part of half a day minimum. Some people may decide to stay longer and also overnight in one of the historic rooms converted for guest accommodation.
Combinations with other dark destinations: in general see under Sydney.
For those into military relics, the historic North Head Fort offers some former gun emplacements, one with a giant gun barrel on open-air display, the Battery Observation Post, and the old barracks. Info panels provide some context.
Combinations with non-dark destinations: North Head is also a nature reserve and you may encounter some wildlife, including long-nosed bandicoots and the endearing echidna, though I did not have such luck. You’d probably have a better chance away from Q Station to the northern and eastern parts of the peninsula. But I didn’t have the time for such excursions/hikes, so can’t comment any further on what it may be like. The views from the various clifftop viewpoints are said to be nice too.
The suburb of Manly does also have its charms, especially around the ferry wharf and along the pedestrianized central street called The Corso. And beyond the end of this there’s Manly Beach, which is actually longer than the more famous Bondi Beach in the south-east of the city.
The ferry ride to Manly from Circular Quay is one of the most scenic – an especially splendid highlight that comes soon into the ride is seeing Sydney’s two world-famous iconic sights, the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House together as the ferry heads away east. It’s in fact only from on the water east of the Opera House that you can get this view. For some that’s a key reason for taking the ferry to Manly (although any other ferry going east would provide the same view).
See also under Sydney in general.
