Ship of Death: 'The Tragedy of the 'Emigrant'

When 276 poor British emigrants sail away from Plymouth on the ship Emigrant in April 1850, seeking a better life in Australia, they know nothing of the ordeal that lies ahead. For four terrible months at sea, they endure cramped and squalid conditions, insufferable heat, bitter cold … and a mounting death toll from the dreaded disease that rages through the ship: typhus.

When the Emigrant arrives in Moreton Bay, the nightmare continues. For three long months in quarantine at Stradbroke Isla...