Gold and Typhoid - Two Fevers: Social History of Western Australia, 1891-1900 by Vera Whittington

This book deals with two fevers - gold and typhoid - both of which had marked social effects on Western Australia in the decade from 1891 to 1900. The story of the discovery of gold, the consequent gold rush and the opening of the goldfields has been written in many books as a history of progress. Other authors have told romantic tales of fortunes won and lost in high adventure. Vera Whittington tells of the social consequences of the gold rush and the way in which a small sleepy colony with limited infrastructure and public services tried to cope with a fourfold increase in population. She provides a detailed account of the cost of gold in human suffering and distress.