Woodman Point Quarantine Station

The vessel MV Clan MacDonald arrived off Fremantle Western Australia in July 1942 and onboard was a
20 year old, 7th Engineer, named Robert P MacLean. Even though he would not come ashore at Fremantle suffering Smallpox, he inturn would catch the disease after the vessel had departed Fremantle, and the probable cause would be the assistance he gave to Dennis Barrington who was a confirmed Smallpox case onboard, prior to the CLan MacDonald arriving off Fremantle, and Dennis Barrington, ( Click here for details ), a friend of Robert MacLean, would be discharged to the Woodman Point Quarantine Station and survive his ordeal with the disease.
It is therefore thoroughly appropriate, with these details, that 7th Engineer, Robert P MacLean of the vessel MV Clan MacDonald be given inclusion on the Woodman Point Quarantine Station website.
This information was kindly forwarded to the Friends of Woodman Point Quarantine Station by his daughter,
Ms Catherine Davis, and we are greatly appreciative and acknowledge her permission in allowing display of this historical information.

Robert Paton McLean ( For reference, always signed his name as Robert P Maclean ) is born at Barrhead, Scotland on the 22nd June 1921, and was the only son of Elizabeth and William McLean, and he had two sisters Violet and Betty.
He worked on the Clyde as a young man and earned his Engineers Certificate from Weirs in Glasgow Scotland.
He became 7th Engineer on the Clan MacDonald in 1942, and attached is the Confidential Memorandum dated 12th August 1942 describes how the apparant second case of smallpox occurred, that was in addition to Dennis Barrington, the 3rd Class Radio Operator onboard who was discharged at Fremantle suffering smallpox. ( Image of Dennis Barrington in the Isolation Hospital Woodman Point Quarantine Station )

An excerpt from the Confidential Memorandum dated 12th August 1942.

" After departing Fremantle, the Clan MacDonald arrived off Portsea, Victoria, Australia on the morning of the 7th August and the Chief Officer, ( acting as Master ) at once reported another case of smallpox, ( the 7th Engineer ) whose rash was copious and discreat all the time. He has a large scar of infantile vaccination and did not take when vaccinated either at Bombay or Fremantle. He was not diagnosed as smallpox till the 4th August when he reported himself to the Chief Officer, with the rash of smallpox well out, who had him placed in the Isolation Hospital with the Second Steward and two natives in attendance. The rash was well out when he reported himself and he then admitted that he had been feeling ill since the 31st July, so that to some extent every member of the crew and the ten troops must be regarded as possible contacts. The case was landed at 5.00P.M. on the 7th. "

" Yesterday, after a talk with the Chief Officer, it became apparent how the second case probably occurred. The Isolation Hospital is adjoined by a cabin occuppied by the Hospital Orderly looking after the first case, and the next was occuppied by the 7th Engineer who was on friendly terms with the Hospital Orderly. One night on the voyage between Colombo and Fremantle, the first patient became very violent in his delirium and was very quickly put back to bed by the Orderly. It became incapable of proof, but on looking back over the incidents of the voyage, the Chief Officer is convinced that the 7th Engineer went into the hospital and assisted the Orderly to quiten the patient and put him back to bed, and so became himself infected. I feel almost certain that the Chief Officer's opinion is correct and that this incident happened and so the period of incubation would be the usual 12 days". ( Click here for further details from the Confidential Memorandum )

Signed : Chief Quarantine Officer (General) Victoria

Family information kindly supplied by Ms. Catherine Davis