City in Masks

The ‘City in Masks’ project documents Brisbane’s dramatic exposure to the world’s deadliest pandemic – the ‘Spanish Flu’ – in 1919, for a book to be published in the outbreak’s centenary anniversary. This influenza epidemic was Australia’s worst natural disaster, and led to severe and widespread disruption to everyday life for the entire population. ‘City in Masks’ tracks the emergency as the disease moved across the city, carrying illness and death into every suburb – and bringing out surprising stories of heroism and humanity wherever it went.