As Victoria comes out of its fourth lockdown of the COVID -19 pandemic, I thought it would be interesting to share how the girls from ‘the Convent on the hill’ survived the deadly Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 as we reflect on stories from 125 years of Mount Lilydale Mercy College. Below is how they were affected by it all.
In late 1918 the deadly influenza pandemic known as the Spanish Flu arrived in Australia. Despite quarantine precautions, the epidemic spread to the civilian population.
Locally, the Shire Health Officer, Dr Arthur Syme, ordered all schools in the district, including the Convent School, to close for six months, although it is unknown what happened to the boarders at Mount Lilydale College and whether they were allowed to stay and continue their studies.
This wasn’t the first outbreak of infectious disease the Sisters had to contend with. In 1911, there was an outbreak of the childhood disease diphtheria, with one young boarder, nine-year-old Gina ‘Daisy’ Durham, struck down with it. Daisy was a talented piano player who had three sisters also at the College.
Margaret Williamson (nee Roberts) (Class of 1922) was interviewed in 1996 and said: “When I was at Mount Lilydale (College) a little girl called ‘Daisy’ Durham caught diphtheria and died. It was a fatal disease in those days, no inoculation. The only fumigation they had was sulphur set alight. The smell was awful. It was a real tragedy at the time.”
Pictured:
Above: MLMC music students
Below: newspaper articles from the Lillydale Express (7 March 1919) and The Age (15 June 1911).
