SYDNEY — Wandering through the grounds of Q Station on a summery day, enjoying views of the sun sparkling on Sydney Harbor, it is difficult to imagine this was once a place of fear and pain.
The 36 hectares, or 89 acres, that spill down to the shoreline were the site of the North Head Quarantine Station for 150 years. And while it played a vital role in protecting Australian residents from contagious disease, the stories of those who were quarantined tell of a sometimes horrific experience.
Since 2006, the site and its 65 buildings have been leased to the Mawland Group, a Sydney tourism company that rebranded it Q Station and spent 20 million Australian dollars, or $20.7 million, on refurbishment. It now operates hotel, restaurant, conference and event facilities there and gives public tours.
The Quarantine Station Story tour starts at the same waterfront jetty where ships once landed with passengers who had endured grueling journeys to reach Australia's shores, only to be suspected of carrying disease like smallpox or typhoid.
As Martin Bennett, a tour guide, explained, passengers and crew members would be brought ashore and divided into three groups: the sick; contacts, or those not ill but likely to have been exposed; and the healthy.
The first stopping point for all three groups was a small drab room, barely large enough to hold the 40 or so travelers who would be squeezed in. The room then would be filled with zinc sulfate gas, thought to assist in removing fluid — and possible infection — from the lungs.
Then they were taken to shower blocks and forced to stand under a spray that included 10 percent carbolic acid, taking off the top layer of their skin.
"It was sheep dip for humans," Mr. Bennett said wryly, asking his audience to imagine their screams and the fear and anxiety of those waiting their turn for the showers.
While the arrivals were being treated, their belongings were put inside large autoclaves and steamed at 115 degrees Celsius (239 Fahrenheit) for 20 minutes.
All travelers, even the healthy, would be kept an average of 40 days before being cleared to enter Sydney. Not everyone endured a difficult stay. The quarters for first-class passengers had a smoking room for the men, ladies sewing room and a tennis court. Off the first-class dining room is a shaded veranda with glimpses of the harbor through the trees.
The sick were treated at an onsite hospital — the tour includes a visit to a ward, which has some of the original beds and items like an old nurse's uniform and posters along with sea breezes and spectacular harbor views.
There were 572 deaths recorded during the station's history; the bodies were buried at three cemeteries on the site. "There were never any outbreaks of disease within the quarantine station and no outbreaks from the quarantine station into Sydney," Mr. Bennett said.
Sylvie Hyatt, one of the visitors on the tour, said, "Those who were poorly and might have spread disease were perhaps the ones who didn't make it."
Ms. Hyatt and her husband, Alan, who have a strong interest in Australian history, traveled more than two hours from their home in Megalong Valley in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales to spend the weekend at Q Station and take the two-hour historic tour.
"It really brings home some of the black periods of Australian history," Mr. Hyatt said. "The treatment was brutal, but then it was a brutal era."
The station is said to be one of the most haunted sites in Australia, and "ghost tours" are also offered, tailored to adults and families and including overnight stays.
The Hyatts had taken the two-and-a-half hour adult tour, a nighttime walk that includes the site's history but focuses on the horrifying experiences of some of the individuals who were interned.
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