Sydney was struck with an epidemic of bubonic plague. George McCredie, a building engineer, was put in charge of quarantine and cleansing operations to get rid of 'slum' buildings in the Rocks and Paddington areas which were thought to harbour plague-carrying rats. These children lived in Millers Point. Clyde Street no longer exists. The street and all the houses were demolished in 1901 as part of the plague cleansing operations.