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Story: The voyage out

A shipboard measles epidemic

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A shipboard measles epidemic

This report on the arrival of the ship Aldergrove at Port Chalmers in 1875 illustrates the devastating effects of disease in a confined space. During the voyage from Edinburgh, 20 children had died of measles. The epidemic had taken hold despite good ventilation on the ship.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Reference: Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives (New Zealand), 1876, D–3, no. 9, p. 7.

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How to cite this page

John Wilson, The voyage out – Sickness at sea, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/document/4227/a-shipboard-measles-epidemic (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by John Wilson, published 4 March 2009.