Sunday 1 March 2015

1863 Quarantine Regulations for Lyttelton Harbour

Below is a copy of the quarantine regulations for Lyttelton Harbour, Christchurch, New Zealand, as published in the Lyttelton Times dated 5 September 1863.  This was when Camp Bay was the newly appointed quarantine site.  The list of questions for the ship's captain is very interesting!


CAUTION. NOTICE is hereby given that no person will be allowed to board, or quit, any vessel arriving from any port or place beyond the Province until the Quarantine Regulations now in force have been duly complied with. 
The penalties in case of an infringement of the regulations will be most strictly enforced. By order of his Honor the Superintendent, THOS. WM. MAUDE, Provincial Secretary. Provincial Secretary's office, Christchurch, September, 2,1863. 
The following are the regulations now in force 
1. The Master of every vessel arriving at any harbor which shall be deemed by the Harbor Master to be liable to Quarantine shall, on being directed so to do by the Harbor Master, cause the same to be anchored in the Quarantine ground appointed for the Harbor, or forfeit and pay for every such offence the sum of one hundred pounds. 
2. The Master of every vessel so anchored shall neither himself quit, nor permit any seaman, passenger, or other person to quit the same until he shall have been duly admitted to pratique, or forfeit the sum of one hundred pounds. 
3. Every seaman, passenger, or other person so quitting shall, for even such offence, forfeit the sum of twenty pounds. 
4. Every vessel so anchored is to hoist a yellow flag, of not less than six breadths of bunting, at the main by day, and a light by night in a lantern such as is used in her Majesty's Navy, and to keep the same respectively hoisted until released from Quarantine, or forfeit the sum of twenty pounds. 
5. The Master of every vessel so anchored is to deliver to the Harbor Master or other authorised person his bill of health, manifest, log-book, and journal; and he is to All up a report in the manner pointed out in the Schedule A annexed. 
6. The Master of every vessel so anchored who shall suffer any goods, wares, or merchandize, packets, books, letters, or other articles to be unshipped or landed, and any person or persons who shall be concerned in the unshipping or landing of the same, shall forfeit for each and every article so unshipped or landed the sum of twenty pounds. 
7. Every person or persons who shall knowingly receive any goods, wares, or merchandize, packets, package, baggage, books, or letters, or any other article whatever from-any vessel so anchored shall forfeit for each and every article the sum pounds. 
8. Any person going within the limits of any Quarantine Station when any vessels shall be there at anchor performing Quarantine shall forfeit any sum not exceeding twenty pounds. 
9. If any officer or person entrusted with orders respecting Quarantine shall in any way neglect his duty, he shall forfeit for such offence the sum of twenty pounds. 
10. The Harbor Master shall immediately after his having so anchored any vessel, report the same to the" Resident Magistrate and Health Officer, or to the person or persons acting or appointed to act for those functionaries. 
11. The Resident Magistrate and Health Officer or Medical Practitioner to be appointed from time to time for that purpose by the Resident Magistrate, shall, upon the receipt of such report, visit the vessel so anchored, and if they shall find that any sickness of an infectious or contagious nature exists, or shall have then recently existed on board of her, they shall submit the information to a Board, consisting of the Resident Magistrate, one or more Justices of the Peace, the superior Officer of the Customs of the Port, the Health Officer, or Medical Practitioner as aforesaid, and one or more legally qualified Medical Practitioners nominated for this purpose by the Resident Magistrate, such Board to be convened by the Resident Magistrate, which Board, or the majority of them, shall have authority to detain such vessel in Quarantine until every symptom of the aforesaid disease shall have disappeared, and until sufficient time to prevent the spread of such disease shall, in the opinion of the Board, have elapsed since the last case disappeared, when the same Board, or the majority of them, have hereby power to release such vessel from Quarantine and admit her to pratique. 
12. During the period any vessel may be in Quarantine, the Resident Magistrate and Health Officer shall visit her alongside from time to time and institute such regulations as the nature of the case may demand, and the Master or Commander shall carry such regulations into effect, or forfeit a sum not exceeding twenty pounds. 
POWER TO RESIDENT MAGISTRATE IN CERTAIN CASES. The Resident Magistrate at any port for which no Harbor Master is appointed shall have all such powers as are hereinbefore given to Harbor Masters. All penalties hereby imposed shall be recoverable in a summary way. 
SCHEDULE A. Questions required to be answered by the Master or other person in command of any ship or vessel arriving in the Port of Lyttelton from any infected place. 
1. What is the tonnage of the vessel and her name? —Answer. 
2. What is the Master's name, and are you the Master?— Answer. 
3. From whence do you come, and when did you sail?— Answer. 
4. At what port have you touched on your passage?— Answer. 
5. What vessel have you had intercourse or communication with on your passage, and from whence did they come? —Answer. 
6. Have you any, and what bills of health? Answer. 
7. Did the cholera or any other highly infectious and dangerous disease prevail at the place from which you sailed, or at any of the places at which you have touched, or on board of any vessel with which you have had communication; if so, state when and where?— Answer. 
8. In the course of your voyage have any persona on board suffered from sickness of any kind? What was the nature of such sickness, and when did it prevail? How many persons were affected by it, and have any of them died in the course of the voyage?—-Answer. 
9. What number of Officers, Mariners and Passengers have you on board?— Answer. 
10. What was the number of persons on hoard your vessel when you sailed?— Answer. 
11. What is the whole number of persons now ill on board your vessel?— Answer. 
12. If there be no sickness now on board, when did the last attack of disease appear, and when did it entirely disappear?—-Answer.

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