Through Covid-19 many were unsettled by police enforcement of isolation & social distancing. How did police become agents of public health?
In Conversation with Dr Hugo Rée and Dr Jonathan Richards: Enforcing Health, Queensland 1850-1920
In 2020 the power of the police to control people's ability to move freely became heated debate, many were troubled by police enforcement of regulations that dealt with isolation and ‘distancing’ orders.
Since colonial times Queensland police have been called upon to enforce often unwelcomed rules made in response to public health fears.
The Queensland Police Museum is pleased to invite you to our first Sunday Stories event for 2026
From these early days and without specific training, Queensland police have been at the health frontlines, physically managing those suffering dangerous and deadly diseases - often within dire environmental conditions and without understanding of the diseases.
Leprosy, the Bubonic Plague , Typhus Fever, Hookworm, Chlorea and the 'Spanish Flu'; as well as venereal diseases, psychiatric issues and alcoholism are part are some of the dramatic cast of characters in Hugo Ree's wonderfully researched, intelligently presented and beautifully written Enforcing Health: Police and Public Health, Queensland 1850-1920
QPM is proud to host the launch of 'Enforcing Health: Police and Public Health 1850-1920'
Dr Ree's book is available for purchase at www.andalsobooks.com
or can be purchased for a special discounted price at this event.
Dr Hugo Rée is a retired physician, with a particular interest in the nexus between infectious diseases and public health. Before coming to Queensland in 1987, he worked in Fiji, The Gambia, the Maldive Islands, PNG, England, and New Zealand. In Queensland his particular areas of interest have been Hansen’s Disease (leprosy) and HIV.
Dr Jonathan Richards is a professional historian who trawls through archives and libraries throughout Australia, finding material for academic clients, community groups, government agencies and for his own writing. He successfully located most of the surviving records about Queensland's infamous Native Police force for his doctoral thesis and subsequent publication The Secret War.'Link: https://griffith.academia.edu/JonathanRichards
banner image: Groups of people on arrival at the Wallangarra Quarantine camp, May 1919 (photographer unknown)Image number: 31880-0001-0003 SLQ