In the early 21st century anxiety over the danger of avian influenza virus H5N1 revived memories of New Zealand's worst disease outbreak, the lethal influenza pandemic of 1918. In two months New Zealand lost about half as many people to influenza as it had in the whole of the First World War.
Armistice Day
In New Zealand
The 1918 flu pandemic
Background - NZ in Samoa
The Samoan archipelago, located in the southwest of the Pacific Ocean, comprises six main islands, two atolls, and numerous smaller islets. Its closest neighbours, the northern islands of the Tonga group, are 210 kms to the southwest.
In the late 19th century the Samoan islands became highly desirable to Britain, Germany and the United States as a refuelling stop for coal-fired shipping. A 'civil war' broke out between factions backed by each of these powers.
The Rarotongan Company
The Rarotongan Company in Sinai and Palestine 1916-1918
The pandemic begins abroad
The first wave
When the ‘new pandemic flu’ first appeared in 1918 there was no immediate cause for alarm. The disease was different to other strains experienced in the past – for example, it was unusually prevalent amongst young healthy adults. But most people affected by what would turn out to be ‘the first wave’ of the pandemic recovered.
Fijian and Gilbert Island Contingents
The Fijian and Gilbert Islands Contingents 1918
Fiji, as a British Crown Colony, sent contingents of men and reinforcements to serve directly as part of the British Army. To begin with Britain would only take Europeans from Fiji, but in 1917 the Fiji Labour Corps was accepted to unload supplies at French and Italian ports.
New Zealand in 1918
It is hard to imagine what New Zealand must have been like in 1918. The First World War was finally over, leaving more than 18,000 New Zealanders dead and tens of thousands more seriously wounded – over 5300 soldiers died in 1918 alone. Between October and December another 8600 people (including 2160 Maori) died during the influenza pandemic.
Difficulties faced by Pacific Islanders in the NZEF
Pacific Islanders faced many difficulties when they left their island homes for the first time and joined the army.
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