Australian Historical Fiction THE BLACK DOG GANG BY ROBERT NEWTON

‘The Rocks’ Sydney 1900 A backyard Two boys, Frankie and Mickey live next door to each other in a Sydney slum area known as ‘The Rocks’, situated right on Sydney Harbour. The time is the early 1900’s. Their backyards might look something like this:

The Bubonic plague/The Black plague Arrival! Rats brought the Bubonic or Black Plague to the poorer areas of Sydney during the early 1900’s. They arrived on ships and crawled down the mooring ropes to the wharf. The fleas that the rats carried spread the Plague when they came into contact with people and bit them.

Poverty = Disease - A kitchen The area where Frankie and Mickey live is a very poor one. Houses, shops, etc. were often poorly constructed and very dirty. Rats flourished in these conditions and disease spread easily and quickly. Here is a typical kitchen of the times.

Hygiene - A butcher’s shop! Hygiene in shops was no better. This is a typical butcher shop of the times and one that was situated in the area where Frankie and Mickey live.

‘The man in charge.’ George McRedie The government of the day realised that the best way to bring the spread of disease under control was to clean up the area. Local politician, George McRedie, was put in charge of the ‘Cleansing operations’. In 1900 George died from gastritis. His illness was believed to be as a result of his work during the Plague outbreak. His funeral was a huge event. He left a wife and 8 children. He was only 43.

‘Cleansing operations’ People were kept away from areas where there had been outbreaks of the Plague. Disinfecting, burning and demolition of infected areas took place. Within 8 months, 303 cases were reported and 103 people were dead. In this picture, you can see the barrier that was built to keep people out of infected areas.

Making money …Catching rats! The government of the day offered a bounty of 2d (two pennies) for each rat that was caught and killed. As many people were out of work, this presented a way of making money and stopping the spread of disease. The picture below shows a typical ‘catch’ of the time. The rats were destroyed in a special rat incinerator. Over 44,000 rats were officially killed. Most rat catchers were adults, some were professionals and some were . .

If you enjoyed ‘Runner’, you will love The Black Dog Gang! If you enjoyed ‘Runner’, you will love ‘The Black Dog Gang’ It was Mickey’s idea to form the gang. The boys wanted to get in on the action but when trapping was found to be too difficult, they decided to breed rats . . . . with tragic consequences! ‘The Black Dog Gang’ by Robert Newton is a story rich in the history of the times. There is humour , history, adventure and sadness. Photographs sourced from: The State Library of New South Wales.

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