The Peel Island lazaret was a medical facility where sufferers of Hansen’s disease (leprosy) were kept away from society. The compound was planned based on the belief that segregation was the most effective treatment for the disease. In 1955, the population had declined to 22 white patients. Separated from the general compound, near the female accommodation, is the doctor’s residence. Other facilities included a recreation hall and medical area, which includes dispensary, surgery and hospital; two churches and an administrative zone. Behind the main precinct, further away from the coast, were the remains of the “coloured” compound, where Aboriginal, Chinese, Indian and Melanesian patients were housed in communal corrugated iron huts prior to their transfer to Phantom Island in 1940. This 3D model is a virtual reconstruction of the lazaret in 1955, when it reached its maximum physical extent, done by UQ Architecture student Jonus Darr.
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