Page 19 - Pharmacy History 29 July 2006

society functions was not promulgated until 1908.
In the interim the Tasmanian Pharmaceutical Society, after its formation in 1891, had acted as a de facto Board for 17 years, examining students and recommending them for registration to the Court of Medical Examiners.
For chemists, Tasmania’s Court of Medical Examiners had meant control by a medical profession unsure of
its ethics and concerned to retain
its influence. It was not until 1908, when the Pharmacy and Medical Acts were passed, that there was a formal separation of the roles of chemist and doctor.19
Dentistry was a discipline that could
be practised in conjunction with medicine, surgery or pharmacy, and practitioners had to be registered by the Court of Medical Examiners as well. By 1890 dentists had become autonomous and had their own Board of Examiners.
th
In the latter half of the 19 Century,
Tasmania did not enjoy the same economic stimulus as the mainland States had experienced by the discoveries of gold. All over the country the population swelled and with
them came the corresponding influx of opportunists claiming all sorts of professional skills. Among them of course were those who were suitably qualified, and from these groups came the added impetus for legislation and controls.
Tasmanian firsts
In looking back over this story there are a number of firsts in medicine and pharmacy that can be attributed to this island state.
Among those I have mentioned already would be the honour
of having the oldest medical
act of Parliament in the British Dominions, and it was a Tasmanian pharmacist , Landon Fairthorne, whose certificate of registration was the first to be issued by any jurisdiction in the British Dominions and there was also the pioneering use of x-rays by Frank Styant-Brown and
Dr Gibson.
Another success story of more recent years and of interest to medical men, is the establishment in the 1960s by the giant British pharmaceutical manufacturer Glaxo Wellcome, or GlaxoSmithKline as it has now called, of the Tasmanian poppy industry to provide opiate alkaloids for analgesic medicines.
When comparing the beginnings
of medicine and pharmacy in Van Dieman’s Land with the other Australian colonies, especially NSW, we have to consider the following factors.
Firstly its geography made Van Dieman’s Land the ideal place for incarcerating malefactors and its governance was that of a harsh penal colony, making it unattractive to free settlers.
Secondly, the size and composition
of the population also meant that
it took a longer time to break the domination of the government’s stores and its salaried medical officers and as a result any medical men emigrating to Van Diemen’s Land had to rely on Government authorities to determine their fitness to practice. 20
But as time went by the professions gradually grew in membership numbers and leaders with vision and passion began emerging.
Professional societies were formed and various Acts of Parliament defined the boundaries of practice with the public interest at heart.
Professional autonomy has also been achieved because the 20th century
saw that medical men are recognised as being suitably qualified if they are passed fit to practice by their fellows. Perhaps the ultimate goal for a relatively small country like Australia would be to have uniform national laws for the professions, but one has to wonder if that sort of harmony is ever going to be achieved.21
Today we see the state governments of Australia constantly haggling with their Federal counterpart for more funds
for new hospitals and highly technical equipment, as well as expanding
the number of university places and opportunities for more doctors to be trained to serve local and rural communities.
These are exactly the same problems that confronted the medical men of New Holland over 200 years ago.
References
volume 3 ■ no 30 ■ NOVEMBER 2006
Pharmacy History Australia ■ 19
1
2 3
4
5 6
7
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21
Richards D. Medical convicts to New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land, 1788-1818; MJA 1994.
Ibid.
Richards P. Effecting a cure, Aaspects of health and
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Crowther WELH. MJA 1941.
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Hunt. J. The Evolution of pharmacy in Britain. Congress of the International Society of the History of Pharmacy, Edinburgh, Jun 2005.
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Valentine B. Early chemists in Launceston., Launceston Historical Society Inc. 2005.
Finch J. Pills potions and politics. Pharmaceutical Society of Tasmania 1991;8.
Finch J. Ibid.
Finch J. p. 25.
Gould HT. Notes on medicine & pharmacy in
Tasmania in the early days (MS no date).
Finch J. p. 12.
RichardsP. ABrisbaneStreethomoeopath:Frank
Styant Browne, dispenser of medicines. Tasmanian Historical Research Association papers Dec 1997;44:4.
Australian Journal of Pharmacy Interview: Nov 30, 1960;1184.
Finch J. p. 46.
Finch J. p. 5.
Richards D. Transported to New South Wales:
medical convicts 1788-1850. BMJ Dec 19-26 1987;1611.
Haines G. Pharmacy in Australia, The National Experience. Pharmaceutical Society of Australia: Sydney, 1988.