When 276 poor British emigrants sail away from Plymouth on the ship Emigrant in April 1850, seeking a better life in Australia, they know nothing of the ordeal that lies ahead. 

For four terrible months at sea, they endure cramped and squalid conditions, insufferable heat, bitter cold … and a mounting death toll from the dreaded disease that rages through the ship: typhus. When the Emigrant arrives in Moreton Bay, the nightmare continues. 

For three long months in quarantine at Stradbroke Island, the immigrants’ hopes are raised and dashed, and raised and dashed again. Impeccably researched and poignantly told, Ship of Death unfurls the true saga of the ill-fated voyage, quarantine, and aftermath. For the first time, this stunning book reveals the human stories of some key players in the drama – their backgrounds, their suffering, and their fates. 

It reveals stories of those who died and those who survived the ordeal, including three heroic doctors, the captain, some of the crew, and several of the passengers. In doing so, Ship of Death brings to life a remarkable journey common to many of Australia’s early settlers. Their stories are tales of hardship, resilience, courage, and despair. 

Journalist Kerry O’Brien, descendant of survivors of the voyage, wrote: ‘'Jane Smith, excellent historian that she is ... has added a rich vein to our understanding of the personal, individual legends of early white settlement in Queensland.' 

Ship of Death was shortlisted for the 2021 Frank Broeze Memorial Maritime History Book Prize.