The Quarantine Station on North Head – aka Q Station – is hosting a Community Day this Sunday, 10 September.
From 10am to 2pm, the Heritage-Listed site – a historic disease quarantine centre and medical treatment facility for convicts, immigrants and merchant sailors – is opening up for visitors to join free tours, activities and demonstrations.
The open day program, titled “New Beginnings Community Day”; includes guided walks; a talk on the little penguin colony resident nearby; shuttle drives around the historic site with commentary; a Reshaping Waste demonstration by environmental education company Eco Adventures; a Paper Couture talk with resident artist Jo Neville; a bush tucker cookery demonstration by Bush to Bowl Aboriginal social enterprise ; and fun activities for kids.
The theme, ‘New Beginnings’, is “inspired by the Spring beauty of the land around us and those personal stories of resilience and hope as described by the thousands of quarantined passengers who spent time here.”
The former quarantine facility was in operation from 14 August 1832 to 29 February 1984. Designated after the 1832 Quarantine Act was passed in NSW – a response to the threat posed by a cholera epidemic in Europe – the station’s primary focus was to regulate the risk of disease importation from ship-borne arrivals.
Those directed to the encampment included sickly prisoners that arrived in chains (convict transports until its suspension in 1840), maritime merchants carrying contagions, or infectious immigrants seeking a new life in Australia.
Since its closure four decades ago as a social isolation camp, the historic site has transitioned into a multi-purpose tourism and functions enterprise under the name Q Station.
This includes a hotel, conference centre and a restaurant complex, plus additional attractions, such as spooky ghost tours.
“Q Station offers a range of incredible experiences, from boutique hotel accommodation, stunning wedding venues, modern conference facilities and an amazing restaurant, as well as Sydney’s best history tours.”
Q Station: https://www.qstation.com.au/
Q Station Community Day details: https://www.qstation.com.au/community-open-day.html
Contact details: Address: 1 North Head Scenic Drive, Manly NSW
Phone: 02 9466 1500 Email: manly@qstation.com.au
