Page 8 - Pharmacy History 03 Sept 1997

Alex Trouchet – pharmacist, farmer, entrepreneur and electroculturist
By Kim Trouchet
Alex was a remarkable man, a visionary who developed a large pharmaceutical business over the
first 30 years of the 20th century in Western Australia, with retail outlets in Kalgoorlie, Perth (five pharmacies), Broome (3000km north of Perth) and Carnarvon (1000km north of Perth). Transportation 80 years ago was by slow boat so the development of businesses in these remote locations was a long and time consuming business.
Not content with just the pharmacies, Alex also invested in farming
in Spearwood (south of Perth)
from where he exported grapes to Singapore. He grew asparagus in Nornalup (500km south of Perth) and started an asparagus cannery and general store in this then undeveloped forest area. He also attempted to develop a fish processing plant and a tourist industry in that area.
Alex also developed a sheep and wheat farm with his son, Philip Alex Trouchet (known as Pat) in Jingalup near Kojonup (400km east of Perth).
He was a very energetic man who became a foundation member of both the Philatelic Society of WA and the Perth Bridge Club.
Alex made several trips to Monte Carlo, where he used his ‘infallible system’ to beat the roulette wheel. His initial successes encouraged many of his Perth friends to invest in his gambling exploits. Alas, on what became his last trip, the system failed and this, of course, proved to be the last of Alex’s trips to France.
Whilst in Paris on one of these ventures, Alex met Monsieur Justin Christofleau who invented the electroculture method of applying atmospheric electricity to the fertilisation of plant life. Alex purchased the rights to sell this invention in Australia, but more of this later as it led to his financial downfall.
During his schooling in Melbourne Alex began a stamp collection which he was able to sell at a substantial gain when at age 24 he completed his apprenticeship to a chemist in South Melbourne, and graduated as a pharmacist. He used the proceeds to travel to the USA and Canada where he completed his pharmaceutical studies and qualified with a degree in pharmacy in Canada.
On returning to Australia in 1898 he, and his best friend, Phil Hawkes,
learned of the discovery of gold in Kalgoorlie by Paddy Hannan in 1893 and the subsequent gold rush. Alex registered as a pharmacist in Perth. However, the lure of adventure to this young, wealthy and aspiring young man was compelling and he and
Phil Hawkes headed for Kalgoorlie. He soon grasped the opportunity to purchase the J.W. Cotters chemist shop in Hannan Street and it was not long before his own brand name remedies became a household word amongst the gold prospectors and their families. The success of these medicines, and particularly his Egyptian corn cure made him realise the potential of this market, and he adopted the design of a lighthouse as his trademark.
Original earthenware pots and their lids bearing this brand are much sought after by collectors today, as they were in use until around 1928 when rising costs forced him to use plain ceramic pots with adhesive labels.
A large replica foot, which was the centre piece for
a display of Trouchet’s
Louis Joseph Alex Trouchet (known as Alex) was born in Mauritius in 1870 and died in Perth in 1934.
8 Pharmacy History Australia
volume 5 no 36 FEBRUARY 2009