The use of quarantine to prevent epidemics from entering ports arose in the wake of the Black Death and the yellow flag, dating back to the 14th century, is the universally recognised sign of quarantine. The Quarantine Service (quarantine) was originally introduced in Australia as a means of controlling the introduction of infectious diseases of humans. An 1866 Victorian report notes "the diseases for which Quarantine should be enforced are - typhus fever, yellow fever, smallpox, and cholera. When the convict ship Bussorah Merchant arrived in Port Jackson on 28th July 1828 with cases of smallpox on board the ship was quarantined in Neutral Bay. In 1833 North Head was reserved for Quarantine Services to minimise the risk of importing disease to the infant colony. A Quarantine Station of national significance has operated continuously at Point Nepean, Victoria from 1852 to 1978. Torrens Island, at the start of European settlement of Adelaide in 1836 was set up as a Quarantine Station while in 1884 the Tasmanian Government tendered notice for the erection of quarantine buildings on Bruny Island. In the 1880s a Quarantine Station was established at West Point on Magnetic Island, Queensland. Later in 1918 - 1919 a serious attempt was made to protect Australia from pandemic influenza by quarantine and the disease was excluded for a few months in spite of the return of the troops from World War 1. Today Quarantine is still of the utmost importance, even though the mode of arrival in Australia of humans, animals, and food may have changed. The past informs the future