For over 150 years, Q Station at Manly’s North Head stood as Sydney’s first line of defense against the world’s most feared diseases. From the 1830s to 1984, ships carrying passengers with suspected contagious illness anchored here – their occupants offloaded into quarantine before they could ever set foot in the city.

Today, those same 65 heritage buildings – spread across 30 breathtaking hectares of national park – have been transformed into boutique accommodation, two restaurants, a café, a museum, and stunning spaces for conferences, weddings and events.

Q Station has been running tours since the 1990s, and they’re not your average sightseeing experience. The Quarantine Wander History Tour brings the station’s extraordinary past to life – the people who lived here, worked here, and never made it out. Running daily (Monday – Thursday at 11:00am, Friday – Sunday at 10:00am), it’s one hour you won’t forget.

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