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What was the sanitary conditions on shhips to Austrlia in 1886? |
Travel Info Doesn't have to be 1886 it can be anytime between 1880 and 1890. Anything to do with ventilation, bathrooms, toilets and kitchens would be good. Travel Tips Really bad, for the prisoners anyway. They were kept below deck out of sunlight most of the time in cells, with very little in the wy of ventillation and bathrooms. I dont know the exact percentage but I think it was around 30% of passengers died on route from a number of diseases due to unsanitary conditions and poor diet. Scurvy,was a big killer Others Listed below are the conditions on board ships sailing for America. I'm sure that the conditions sailing to Austraila were the same. Conditions on ships in the 1800's were frightful. The trip was not a dry one. Water seeped into the steerage through holes that were suppose to be for ventilation. It was impossible to go on deck in bad weather. The hatches were battened down. The passengers in steerage would remain below in the dark rocking ship. In most cases one toilet was shared between one hundred passengers and on some ships the toilets were on deck. The toilets were sometimes washed over board in high seas. Most immigrants traveled in steerage. There was no lighting and passengers were packed in tightly. Steerage passengers had to provide their own bedding. Their space for each berth was eighteen inches wide and six feet long. They often suffered illnesses like trench mouth, body ulcers, and lice. Immigrant ships were recognized by their smell. Some were the old slave ships that were no longer safe for ocean voyages. winter.sprinter is writing nonsense. Transportation of convicts ended in about 1860. The example of the Second Fleet was remembered, when private contractors starved convicts sent to the new colony, there were multiple deaths as a result. (One of the results of 18th century privatisation.) But that was about 1790. The British government took over control of convict transportation again, conditions improved and the death rate dropped. Conditions aboard ship by the 1880s would have varied with the age of the ship and with the class you were traveling. By the 1880s many ships were steamers and many would have had some form of flush toilets. Bathing might have been restricted because of the amount of fresh water a ship could carry. However most people did not bathe frequently in any case, but they did wash in a few litres of water from a basin. Ventilation in the first and perhaps second class cabins would have been fair to good, but for steerage passengers not so good. However there had to be some ventilation as lighting was by oil lamp, and with no ventilation that could be dangerous. Since the ship engines needed air for the fires, the ships had designed-in ventilation. Even modern ships are a bit stuffy, I write from experience. Some ship kitchens used boiler steam for cooking, some used coal, wood or oil burning stoves. There was probably no refrigeration but ships would probably have stopped at Cape Town for fuel, water and fresh food. In addition canned food was available by then. Ships bound for Sydney might also have re-supplied at Fremantle. Many passenger ships carried a medico as a crew member, specially on long voyages. |
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