Smallpox on the Limits of Location: The Politics of Diagnosis in New South Wales, 1830–34

In the early 1830s a smallpox epidemic impacted First Nations communities across much of southeastern Australia. Colonial medical officers debated the diagnosis of this outbreak, arguing whether it was smallpox or chickenpox. This article examines this debate in detail, reading archival sources in their broader context. Historical-Geographical Information Systems (H-GIS) is used to map where smallpox was reported, revealing presences and absences in the archival record. The 1830s smallpox/chickenpox debate was highly political, for the outbreak occurred in a contested geography, where martial law had been declared just seven years earlier. Pastoralists were growing rich from sheep and cattle grazing upon recently stolen land. To argue for a smallpox diagnosis, was to also argue for the implementation of state-sponsored vaccination (as seen in other contemporary colonial settings). A chickenpox diagnosis, meanwhile, excused settler inaction, maintained the pastoralists' dominance, and enabled many to largely ignore the epidemic while it was happening.