James N. Lambert, president of the New Zealand Mission, made this report in mid-November 1918:
For about one month now New Zealand has been suffering through the plague of influenza that has been making its effects upon various parts of the world. Quite a number of deaths, variously estimated by some away up in the hundreds (the Government giving out no statistics as to the number), have resulted from the disease and our Saints in a few instances have suffered along with the rest. A few of our most stalwart natives have died and while the strength of the disease has somewhat abated we, apparently, are a long way from being free from it.
Quite a number of our elders have also suffered, five Elders in the city having had to go to bed. Elders laboring in other parts of New Zealand have also been stricken with it and in an urgent wire received last Sunday from Elder Harold A. Hinckley I learned that Elder Blaine R. Steed was very ill at Porirua near Wellington and that he could not get a Doctor’s pass for him to go to the Hospital, owing to the congested condition there. I was unable to leave because of the sickness of the Elders here and my being slightly indisposed at the time as well. I, therefore, wired Dr. Pomare, a member of Parliament, who is a very good friend of ours and who has befriended us on many an occasion in the past. I urged that he use his good offices to see that Elder Steed, who was at a Maori home, be given the proper attention and received a reply saying that he would do all he could. I have asked Elder Hinckley to keep me advised but up to the present I have not heard anything further.
Blaine Robinson Steed (pictured) survived.
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MLA: Parshall, Ardis E. ""The Plague of Influenza": The Report from New Zealand, November 1918." Keepapitchin.org, 26 Mar 2020, https://keepapitchinin.org/2020/03/26/the-plague-of-influenza-the-report-from-new-zealand-november-1918/.
APA: Parshall, A. (2020, Mar 26). "The Plague of Influenza": The Report from New Zealand, November 1918. Keepapitchinin.org. https://keepapitchinin.org/2020/03/26/the-plague-of-influenza-the-report-from-new-zealand-november-1918/
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2 thoughts on ““The Plague of Influenza”: The Report from New Zealand, November 1918”
Being the curious type, and because I figured he might be a relative, I looked up Harold A Hinckley. [Grandmother’s second cousin.] After his four year mission Harold finished school and became a doctor. I wonder what his experience with the epidemic had in him choosing that path.
I love learning about personal connections like this, STW! Thank you.
Quite a number of our elders have also suffered, five Elders in the city having had to go to bed. Elders laboring in other parts of New Zealand have also been stricken with it and in an urgent wire received last Sunday from Elder Harold A. Hinckley I learned that Elder Blaine R. Steed was very ill at Porirua near Wellington and that he could not get a Doctor’s pass for him to go to the Hospital, owing to the congested condition there. I was unable to leave because of the sickness of the Elders here and my being slightly indisposed at the time as well. I, therefore, wired Dr. Pomare, a member of Parliament, who is a very good friend of ours and who has befriended us on many an occasion in the past. I urged that he use his good offices to see that Elder Steed, who was at a Maori home, be given the proper attention and received a reply saying that he would do all he could. I have asked Elder Hinckley to keep me advised but up to the present I have not heard anything further.
Being the curious type, and because I figured he might be a relative, I looked up Harold A Hinckley. [Grandmother’s second cousin.] After his four year mission Harold finished school and became a doctor. I wonder what his experience with the epidemic had in him choosing that path.
I love learning about personal connections like this, STW! Thank you.