Chapter 6

1. Where was the big cemetery?- Toowong

2. What was the name of the railway in London that Ben told Issy about?- The Necropolis
Railway.
3. Why was it built?- People couldn’t get to the cemetery because it was so far away so
they built a separate railway to get people to and from the cemetery.
4. What were Albert Howard’s symptoms?- He had big swelling in his groin and was sick
and pale.
5. What did they think Albert’s sickness could be?- The Black Death- a contagious plague.
6. What did the doctor arrive to the Howard’s in?- a carriage connected to a horse
7. Why did Albert cry out?- they had to collect a specimen of his swelling and that is when
he cried out.

Chapter 7

1. Describe the scene in Issy’s street presented at the beginning of this chapter.- Horses,
carriages and carts begun to turn the corner into our street. People stepped back to let
them go by, staring. One horse and cart in our neighbourhood was remarkable,
especially on a Sunday. Now there were two, three, four more. There was a doctor and
the health officer. There was a larger cart, covered, with a red cross painted on the side.
There was cart for seats for passengers. Then, a cart with what looked like pieces of
timber and sheets of corrugated iron. Finally, a little behind but marching briskly, a
number of policemen.
2. Where did Mrs Howard reveal they were taking Albert?- At the church.
3. How did Issy know about the plague?- she had read about it in a book.
4. What did she remember about it?- she knew about the black death from a history lesson
and it’d happened in Europe, hundreds of years ago. It was carried by the fleas on rats,
and hundreds of people had died. Carts went through the streets carrying bodies by
night to cries of “bring out the dead”. Whole families were shut up in their houses with
crossed painted on their door, shut up to die.
5. What did the health officer say to the crowd who had gathered outside the Howard’s?-
“No need for concern. The young fellow’s being taken care of. I suggest you all go about
your business. Everything’s under control. Nothing to see hear. On your way now.”
 6. Why do you think he told the crowd that everything was ‘under control’ and to ‘go about
your business’?- To stop the town from going frantic and panicking about the returned
plague.
7. Where did the doctor tell Da they were taking Albert?- to a special hospital at Comslie.
8. What news did the health officer deliver to the Howards, McKelvie’s and the Stanleys?-
That all of them had to go and isolate at that hospital as well.
9. What did the workmen start doing immediately after the cart with timber and
corrugated iron had been unloaded?- they were putting a fence around their houses.
10. Who was Da concerned about leaving?- his dogs.
11. How did Issy feel they had been treated?- she thought they were being treated like
criminals.

Chapter 8

1. Describe the site they arrived at when the families got to Colmslie.- We turned down a
dirt road and came to a halt at a low wire fence and a gate. Albert’s Ambulance was
standing at the gate, in front of us. I could see we were near the river, and there was an
old jetty. I looked further, and in a paddock in front of us was an old house. Not far from
it three new buildings had been started. The frames had been set up, but they were far
from finished.
2. How did the workmen at the site react to the families’ arrival at Colmslie?- they were
frightened and ran to the gate.
3. What did the matron demand they do?- bathe themselves in an antiseptic bath.
4. What is an inoculation?- the action of immunizing someone against a disease by
introducing infective material, microorganisms, or vaccine into the body.

Chapter 9

1. What terrible news was delivered at the beginning of this chapter?- that Albert had died
2. What treatments did Mrs Howard say they had tried for Albert’s symptoms?- the
doctors tried to ease the swelling with medicine, the kept sponging him with cold water
for his fever, then they tried cutting into the buboes, the swellings, to drain the pus.
3. Where was Albert to be buried? Why do you think this site was chosen?- Gibson Island.
Albert had to be buried there because they couldn’t rick the plague spreading to anyone
 else, so if they buried him in an isolated place like Gibson Island, people would be safe
from catching the deadly disease.
4. Who are the only people allowed to attend the burial?- Just the person driving the
steamer.
5. How has Issy’s experience in her job affected how she feels about this situation?- Even
the lowest people’s funerals showed some respect and care towards the departed one at
the Lewis’ but here, no coffin, no priest, no clergyman, it was not a funeral at all!
6. What happened at the camp over the time that Issy and her family were there?- More
people cam to the hospital sick, and some were just like them, contacts.
7. What did Issy notice about her own family as time went on in the camp?- The adults
started to stay away from Kate and her, no hugs, kisses, because they didn’t want them
to catch the plague.
8. How did Issy feel during this time?- afraid because she was scared, she’d get the plague.
9. Who visited the family at Colmslie?- Ben and Mr Lewis
10. What did they tell the McKelvie’s were the problems back in town?- people are angry
they weren’t warned, people are hiding symptoms so they don’t have to be sent to the
hospital, neighbours are reporting others if they even just sneeze, nobody is taking the
inoculations, and there are too many committees.

Chapter 10

1. Who were the second group of visitors for the McKelvies that day?- Doctor John
2. What does Dr Thomas Lucas think the plague actually is?- Typhoid
3. Why is Doctor John angry at the newspapers?- They report plague, but they don’t say
anything about other deadly diseases that many people die from like measles.
4. What was in the parcel and who had sent it?- New clothes for everyone and Mr Lewis
had sent it.