Epidemics Aotearoa

The aftermath – lessons learned

What happened to Spanish Flu in New Zealand and what lessons can we learn from it, in the age of Covid-19?





































The names of more than 40 people from the area who died between November 1918 and March 1919 are inscribed on the memorial at Te Rēinga marae.

The end? |The Spanish Flu epidemic ended in 1919 once New Zealanders had developed collective immunity, although the virus never completely disappeared. The H1N1 virus that caused the 1918 pandemic is still with us today.

In New Zealand, cities with slum housing areas and troop camps bore the brunt of the pandemic's impact, as did rural Māori communities where there was little immunity to colds and flus.

The death rate for Māori was among the highest in the world. Emeritus professor of history at The University of Canterbury, Professor Geoff Rice says another impact of Spanish Flu was that it blew the lid off racism within Aotearoa: "Some places, like Temuka in the South Island, had racial segregation of flu patients, while others, such as Taumarunui, put everyone in the same temporary hospital, the Central Hotel, regardless of race."

It is estimated that around 9000 people died of Spanish Flu in Aotearoa. Of these, 2500 were Māori, a sobering death rate of 50 per 1000 people.

Forty percent of all New Zealanders were infected.

Colourised transmission electron micrograph showing H1N1 influenza virus particles. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

What can we learn from the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic?

Rates of death varied dramatically across countries and cities. Authorities that responded quickly with public health measures such as mask-wearing and quarantining, did a better job of containing infections and had fewer deaths.

Out of all the major cities in Aotearoa, Wellington suffered the most with a death rate of eight people per thousand, while Christchurch – which quickly organised its health response and had fewer inner city slums – fared the best with 4.9 deaths per thousand.

A 'Native Hospital' was set up in Temuka, where Maori patients were segregated from Pākehā. Christchurch City Libraries PhotoCD 15, IMG0033.

Effective communication between government and civic leaders proved important, as did a community’s ability to organise itself when public services collapsed.

Knowledge of basic nursing skills and infection control along with prompt distribution of medicines were also vital.

These things would go on to inform pandemic planning in New Zealand.