Influenza pandemic 1918

General websites

Here are some databases and websites that have information about the origin, spread and death toll of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic.

Britannica School Secondary

Britannica School Secondary is part of EPIC, which is a collection of reliable databases covering lots of different topics. It’s put together especially for New Zealand school students and helps to answer questions like this.

• Use search words 'Spanish Flu' or '1918 Influenza Pandemic' to get a range of results.

• Explore influenza pandemic of 1918-19 for an introduction to this topic.

World History (Gale In Context)

Another EPIC resource, this site has lots of information about events and people in world history.

• Search for 'influenza epidemic' or 'influenza pandemic.'

• Results are grouped by type eg reference or magazines.

• Under reference find entries such as The Spanish Flu Epidemic Begins: March 11, 1918.

Tips: To get to the EPIC resources you will need a password from your school librarian first. Or you can chat with one of our AnyQuestions librarians between 1 and 6 pm Monday to Friday and they will help you online. Some EPIC databases may also be available through your public library.

Tips: Search words, or keywords, are the most important words in our question. Usually it’s better to leave out small words like ‘the’, ‘a’ and ‘of’ and just choose the main ones, e.g [Spanish Flu]. We can always change our keywords or add more if we need to.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

CDC is an American agency working to keep the United States safe. It covers information about healthcare and about historic health events.

• Use keywords like 'Spanish Flu 1918' to find the article 1918 Pandemic (H1N1 virus)

• The subheadings on the left side of the page will lead you to the history of the pandemic, an image gallery, three waves of the pandemic and a pandemic timeline.

Tips: We like sites that are from government or other reputable organisations, because we can trust the information. You can sometimes tell these sites by their web address – they might have .gov or .edu in their address – or by looking at their About us or Contact pages.

New Zealand sites

Check out these websites for information about how the 1918 Influenza Pandemic affected people here in New Zealand.

Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Te Ara is an excellent starting point for all questions about Aotearoa New Zealand. If we look down to the bottom of the page, we can see that the website belongs to the Ministry for Culture & Heritage, so the information is well-researched and reliable.

• Under Sections select Social connections.

• Next choose Health and then Epidemics.

• From the Contents find the link to The Influenza Era, 1890s to 1920s to find out about the impact of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic in New Zealand.

• We recommend checking out the the images on the right side of the page for even more information.

NZ History

NZ History is another great website from the Ministry for Culture & Heritage, so the information is well-researched and reliable.

• Go to the page on Culture and Society and look under Disasters to find a link to the 1918 Influenza Pandemic.

• Use the list of Contents and links to Related maps and Images in the right hand column to expand your understanding on this topic.

Tips: We like sites like this because they’re reliable. You can tell because of their web address – they have .govt , meaning they are from government. They’re also New Zealand sites, so relevant for us.

Christchurch City Libraries

Christchurch City Libraries has gathered together information and resources about lots of important events in the history of New Zealand and Canterbury.

• Use the drop-down search box to search the website. Use search terms like 'influenza'.

• 1918 Influenza Pandemic has general information about how the flu came to New Zealand.

Tips: Many web pages have links to further information or to other recommended sites. Following these links is a great way to find out more. This searching method is called “pearl growing” because you are picking up pieces of sand to make a beautiful pearl!

DigitalNZ

DigitalNZ is a search site that focuses on New Zealand history and brings together results from lots of different websites. It’s an easy way of searching online resources from New Zealand libraries, museums, universities and government sites all at once, and has lots of primary sources.

• Use your search terms to find items on the 1918 Influenza Pandemic.

• Use the tabs at the top of the results to limit them to images, videos, newspapers, articles and research papers.

Radio New Zealand (RNZ)

Radio New Zealand is a trusted source of broadcasts, podcasts and series on news and current affairs. It also has some interesting programmes on New Zealand history.

• Select the tab Podcasts & Series.

• Go to The Aotearoa History Show.

• Watch or listen to The First World War.

• The information is towards the end of the recording.

Books

There are different books you can look out for to learn more about the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. Here are some to get you started:

• Black Flu 1918: The story of New Zealand's Worst Public Health Disaster by Geoffrey W. Rice

• Pandemic by Sally Stone

• Pale rider : the spanish flu of 1918 and how it changed the world by Laura Spinney.

SCIS no: 1920550