Lawlor Island
This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (January 2013) |
44°36′N 63°30′W / 44.600°N 63.500°W Lawlor Island or Lawlor's Island is a small island near the mouth of Halifax Harbour in Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia, Canada. It was the site of a major quarantine facility for immigration from 1866 to 1938 and is today owned by the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources as part of the McNabs Island provincial park reserve.
Geography
Measuring approximately 55 hectares (136 acres), it is located opposite MacCormacks Beach in Eastern Passage, just east of
History
The
Quarantine station
In 1866, after a fatal outbreak of cholera from passengers embarked from the SS England on McNabs Island, the government of Nova Scotia passed an act to establish a quarantine station on Lawlor Island. The purchase was taken over by the new Canadian federal government in 1867 although difficulties in finding the island's absentee owners delayed the establishment of the station until 1870.[2] Many local residents (most on the Eastern Passage side) protested against the idea of having infectious disease so close to their homes; some were concerned about germs that would blow across the fields and water into their homes. Many port officials and doctors also protested against the idea, being concerned that Lawlor's Island had no natural springs or fresh water, and also that the flow of ice during the winter would create difficulties in bringing boats in. An early quarantine officer was Dr William Wickwire, who assumed responsibility for quarantine duties after the indefinite suspension of Dr Gossip for incompetence. Dr. Norman McKay took control of these duties soon afterwards. By 1900, officials had the island fitted with a deep-water wharf, a shallow-water wharf (on the Eastern Passage side), two hospitals and a convalescent building, a disinfection autoclave, baths with needle showers[clarification needed], a bacteria diagnosis laboratory, a first, second and third-class detention hall, an ambulance building, many residences and staff housing; also, the building that was referred to as "the long shed" or "German Hospital" on McNabs Island was taken down and reassembled on the west side of the island.
The buildings were not winterized, but by 1908 a winterized hospital and power plant had been built. Not long after World War I, a submarine cable was installed from Eastern Passage, receiving power from Dartmouth and on the highest point of land, right next to a frost-proof cement cistern built 20 years prior, a 360,000-litre (80,000 imperial gallon) water tower was erected, thus solving the problem of a steady flow of fresh water on the island.
With advances in medical science, the discovery of penicillin and vaccination programs, major infectious diseases were now a much reduced threat to public health, and the emergency use of Lawlor's Island as a quarantine station was falling rapidly. During the 1920s and 1930s, the cost of salaries, supplies, and services outweighed the benefits of quarantining minor infectious diseases on Lawlor's Island. Costs included telephone charges, uniforms and large quantities of drugs and medical supplies. Following the Paris International Sanitary Convention of 1926, the Canadian deputy minister of health decided in 1936 that it would cease to house quarantine patients on the island. However when smallpox was detected by
The island was purchased by the Canadian government for use as a medical station during the
Tolstoy
Local Haligonians had found these Doukhobors quite special in their enlightenment[clarification needed] and enjoyed the churek[clarification needed] that the women baked in the cookhouse. The first Doukhobor birth in Canada occurred during this stay on Lawlor's Island.
Mystery
An unexplained issue on Lawlor's Island is the fact that there have been a vast number of deaths due to cholera, smallpox and German measles. Although there are only eight grave markers on the northern tip, archival records of Harwood Cemetery seem almost non-existent as there are no landmarks or map legends for these missing graves.[3]
Today
Lawlor's Island is uninhabited and has been deserted since the last family of caretakers left during the 1950s. The closure of the station left extensive ruins with scattered foundations and traces of the piping cistern systems. Although rusted and weathered, the large double steel walled autoclave and boiler that disinfected clothing and luggage with high pressure steam, remains on the northwest shore, next to where the docking pier once stood. Nearby are the foundations of the bath house and administration shed. The island is part of the McNabs Island provincial park reserve but is not open to the public.
Sources and links
- Friends of McNabs Island History of Lawlor Island
- McNabs and Lawlor Islands Provincial Park Management Plan
- Doukobor Quarantine
- Photo of Lawlor Island from Space
References
- ^ "Tuitnuik", Ta’n Weji-sqalia’tiek Mi’kmaw Place Names Digital Atlas
- ^ Ian Cameron, Quarantine What is Old is New: Halifax and the Lawlor's Island Quarantine Station 1866-1938, Halifax; New World Publishing (2007), 47
- ^ Cameron, 164