Item 01: J. E. Morrison diary, 13 October 1917-29 October 1918 - Page 139
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[Page 139]
Went up to old Taranto the streets being only the majority about 20 feet wide. Old fashonable houses & flats. The Italian inhabitants swarmed like bees in the narrow streets. In the poorer working class part of the town the filth & poverty was awful. The sanitary system exceedingly bad consequently filth & smell everywhere. They have cases of small pox, plague & no wonder, by far more dirty & filth about than Alexandria. Personally a disgrace to the Italian government. The slums of Melbourne & Sydney would do credit compared with the main streets of Taranto.
No doubt the working classes are suffering badly on account of the present war. Pracically no money in the town & the Italians being of a filthy race by nature. The town is under martial law, armed guard of Italian soldiers & sailors parading the streets. They are to their credit neatly & clean dressed.
Sept. 1st
Finished loading full up with cargo for military field use & 5000 bags of mail for Egypt, India & Australia & news that we shall take in 2400 troops for Egypt on