The occurrence of some cases of plague in Auckland, together with certain alarmist rumours that are being circulated locally, have given rise to some uneasiness in Dunedin, especially regarding the danger of contamination from rats.
With a view to gaining some exact information about the condition of things, a Times reporter yesterday waited on Mr Donaldson, the inspector of nuisances for the city.
Mr Donaldson held his present responsible position when, in 1900, plague-infected rats were discovered in the city, and he is thoroughly acquainted with all the preventive measures that were then taken. In order to avoid a scare very little was then divulged to the public, but after this lapse of time Mr Donaldson felt free to speak of what had occurred.
The plague-stricken rats were discovered in a store in Princes Street. The place was immediately quarantined, and two men were employed to clear it as far as possible from the vermin. They took up the ground floors, and secured no less than 120. These were found to be coming up an old storm-water drain that led down to the wharves.
The ground floor was thoroughly disinfected, the ground dug over, and a ton of lime laid down before the floor was replaced. Two of the rats taken from these premises were found to be suffering from plague, and other plague rats were secured about the wharves. All these were gathered together, put in an antiseptic fluid in earthenware jars, hermetically sealed, and sent to the University.
Six men were employed by the corporation as sub-inspectors, and with half a dozen constables, they visited all the houses and back-yards in the city, and had a large accumulation of rubbish removed.
At that time about 5000 rats were sent to the Gasworks and burned, at a cost of some £170 to the corporation. Since then up to the present time no more plague rats have been seen in the city.
• The report presented by the Grand Chief Templar to the biennial session of the Grand Lodge of N.Z. of the International Order of Good Templars contained the following clauses: "Substantial progress has been made by our temperance movement in Dunedin, and in the provincial district of Otago, since the Grand Lodge met here in 1895.
Then we had 75 licensed hotels in the city, but as a result of thrice carrying the Reduction vote, we have closed 45 of them. There are no licensed houses in the large residential areas of Mornington, Roslyn or Maori Hill. There are none in the northern portion of our city, which is thickly populated, and only one hotel in the North-East Valley Borough.
Dunedin South district has reduced the number to 10. By carrying Reduction in 1908 we closed 10 hotels in Dunedin and 46 were closed throughout Otago.
• Two men who had been imbibing freely but not wisely, strolled down the George Street pier at Port Chalmers on Thursday night about 10 o'clock, when one of them either staggered and fell or walked over the side of the wharf into deep water.
The other man promptly rushed off and got a rope near by and threw it towards his companion, but owing to excitement or some other cause he overbalanced and fell over into the water beside his struggling mate.
The cries and splashings of the men fortunately attracted the attention of some workmen near at hand, and one of these jumped in from the wharf, and, after some difficulty, succeeded in effecting a rescue by pulling the men over to the piles and stringers of the pier, whence they were hauled up by means of a rope.
- ODT, 19.4.1911
