On 23 November 1918 the deadly influenza pandemic reached peak mortality in New Zealand, according to historian Geoff Rice. The pandemic was the country’s worst disease outbreak, striking New Zealand from October to December 1918. As nzhistory.net notes, ‘in two months New Zealand lost about half as many people to influenza as it had in the whole of the First World War. No event has killed so many New Zealanders in such a short time’. Over 8600 people died as a result of the outbreak.

The outbreak of the disease coincided with the finish of World War One and the return of troops to New Zealand, and some of the worst hit places were military camps. This record is titled ‘Featherston Camp – Register of Deaths’, and it lists the deaths at the camp from 17 December 1915 - 15 March 1920, a vast proportion of which were the result of influenza. It demonstrates one of the most devastating peculiarities of the pandemic in that this strain of influenza was most lethal for young, fit people, as opposed to the elderly or children. This meant that many soldiers who had only recently survived the experience of warfare, succumbed to the disease in great numbers.

This record was created by the Army Department and forms part of a group of records relating to Military Camps [Series 24697]. It has been digitised in full and can be viewed at www.archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewFullItem.do?code=23696006 There is also a transcribed version available on nzhistory.net at www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/featherston-camp/deaths , and a personal account of researching this record on WW100 at ww100.govt.nz/featherston-camp-death-register

Archives reference: ACID 24697 WA232 3/22 For updates on our On This Day series and news from Archives New Zealand, follow us on Twitter - twitter.com/ArchivesNZ