Page 2 - Pharmacy History 29 July 2006

President’s column
Hygeia’s bowl and serpent – symbol of pharmacy
Hygeia the goddess of health in ancient Greece served beside her father the great healing god Asklepios. The staff of Asklepios and entwined serpent
has become the world-wide symbol of medicine. Located in the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum in London is a splendid statue of Hygeia cast from the original in the Louvre, Paris. This statue depicts Hygeia holding
her bowl and serpent. This bowl and serpent has become an internationally recognized symbol of pharmacy. Many examples of this bowl and serpent exist and pharmacy organisations commonly use a version as their symbol. The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia uses a highly stylized version as its symbol and our Australian Academy of Pharmacy History uses another stylised version with a kangaroo which you can see on the cover of this journal.
The Grenada Declaration – teaching
pharmacy history
The International Congress for the History of Pharmacy held in Grenada adopted an important Declaration regarding the teaching of pharmacy history in under-graduate pharmacy courses. There were three vital components to this Declaration:
• To make the history of pharmacy an essential part of all curricula in pharmaceutical Studies.
• To provide this teaching with adequate financial resources, thus assuring its quality and effectiveness.
• To provide coordination between the teaching of the history of pharmacy and the teaching of pharmaceutical legislation, duty and ethics.
In Australia these vital components have been implemented with various degrees of success in our differing pharmacy schools. We have recognised that pharmacy history is better taught later in the course rather than earlier and with a four year course now in operation it is generally accepted that history is preferably taught in years three and four rather than being taught in years one and two.
Some of our pharmacy schools have difficulty in identifying the personnel resources necessary to teach pharmacy history. Often local pharmacists are willing to help and their contribution is very much appreciated. If you would like to be involved in teaching pharmacy history to pharmacy students, please contact our Academy secretary Geoff Miller.
What should be taught? Your Academy of Pharmacy History proposes that topics include the beginnings and antiquity of pharmacy, main periods of pharmacy history, traditions of Asian, European, American and Australian pharmacy, the beginnings and growth and
diversity of pharmacy practice in Australia, the changing relationships between pharmacy and allied professions and roles which pharmacy has played in the Australian community. Looking ahead we aim to establish pharmacy history as an academic discipline with its own research and teaching personnel which will open a world of opportunity for us all.
Ross Brown, President
(Cont. from page 1)
In this issue of the Academy Journal we feature the second article contributed by
our New Zealand scribe, Terry Sutcliffe.
He describes the scenario when the British cut price pharmacy chain, ‘Boots’, arrived
in Auckland in 1936. Not only did New Zealand pharmacists think that their days were numbered, but across the Tasman, Australian pharmacy leaders began stirring to change the ownership rules in every State, so that by limiting the number of pharmacies in which one person could have an interest, the idea of trying to get involved in the Australian market became unattractive to Boots.
Also in this issue is an interesting story of a pharmacist who came to Australia from Germany at a time when gold was on everyone’s mind. This young man applied himself diligently and became not only the dispenser but also the administrator of a public hospital in Queensland.
This achievement was against a backdrop
of bitterness and distrust of anyone who may have had some hereditary links
with Germany through two world wars. The history of that period makes for an interesting story and we are grateful to
Dr Owen Harris for his diligent research and then sharing it with us through this journal.
Geoff Miller
Editor
1. Australian Journal of Pharmacy, Editorial, October 30th 1951.
2. The image of the 24 hour Drug Mart is reproduced by kind permission of FeelGood Pty. Ltd.
The FeelGood Guide system has been developed to assist pharmacies to differentiate and drive retail performance through niche marketing health throughout their local community.
For further information, refer to www.feelgoodguide.com.au
Editor’s note
Contributions from members are always welcome, especially family histories of pharmacists.
The opinions and views of the authors of articles
in this newsletter are their own and not necessarily those of the publisher, the Australian Academy of Pharmacy History or the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia. Every care is taken to reproduce articles as accurately as possible but the publisher accepts no responsibility for errors, omissions or inaccuracies.
2 ■ Pharmacy History Australia
volume 3 ■ no 29 ■ JuLY 2006