epidemic

The 1918 influenza pandemic

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  The lethal influenza pandemic that struck New Zealand between October and December 1918 killed about 9000 people in two months. No other event has claimed so many New Zealand lives in such a short time.

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• Page 2 – The pandemic begins abroad

  The 1918 influenza pandemic was commonly referred to as ‘the Spanish flu’, but it did not originate in Spain.

• Page 3 – The pandemic hits New Zealand

  Many people believed that the second wave of the 1918 influenza pandemic arrived in New Zealand as ‘a deadly new virus’ on board the RMS Niagara.

• Page 4 – Uneven rates of death

  No other event has killed so many New Zealanders in so short a space of time. While the First World War claimed the lives of more than 18,000 New Zealand soldiers over four

• Page 5 – Response to the influenza pandemic

  There was a degree of consistency in New Zealand's response to the influenza pandemic, thanks to a telegram the Health Minister, George Russell, issued to all borough councils

• Page 7 – Aftermath

  Robert MakgillFollowing the pandemic, speculation about the Niagara's role in bringing the virus to New Zealand continued.

• Page 9 – South Island influenza death rates

  Death rates in South Island towns and counties from the influenza pandemic

• Page 11 – Further information

  This web feature was written by Imelda Bargas and produced by the NZHistory.net.nz team.