Page 11 - Pharmacy History 23 July 2004

book review
A history of pharmacy in the Hunter Valley
Reviewed by Andrew Daniels
The research for this history of pharmacy in the Hunter Valley was triggered by the Australian Bicentennial celebrations in 1988 but it took until 1997, the bicentenary of Newcastle, for it to be completed.
The author Rosemary Neville, a historian, was commissioned by
the Newcastle and Hunter Valley Pharmacists’ Association to research and write a history of pharmacy in that area. The result is an interesting and folksy book that ties the evolution of pharmacy in the area with the development of
the area as a whole. The book explores the role key individuals had in this development and uses many interesting and often amusing anecdotes about these characters to make them come alive for the reader.
The photos, illustrations and reproductions of advertisements also help bring the story of pharmacy in the Hunter Valley alive.
One of the most immediately striking things is the unique way in which the communities in the Hunter valley, Newcastle in particular, evolved. Rather than expanding from a central location, Newcastle grew from a collection of small villages that sprung up around the many coal mining pits that dominated the area in the early days. Until the tramway system was established in 1887 each village was quite isolated
and operated as a separate community. Residents relied on patent medicines from local stores. Major injuries or illnesses involved a visit to one of larger centres to visit a doctor.
It was not until well into the 1880s that chemist shops began appearing
in Newcastle in any numbers. The outstanding personalities of this early era were William Lipscomb Jnr, Robert Knaggs and his sons, FW Reay and Caleb Soul.
These men were very active in their community. Lipscomb was instrumental in establishing several building societies in the area while Knaggs also sold books
and stationary and even went into newspaper publishing. He was also the coroner from 1859-66.
From these early beginnings Ms Melville traces the history of the area through its pharmacists and provides many examples of the growing sense of community and Australian identity in the area.
After Knaggs died in 1877 his son
took over the business. However, the following year he also died and the business was sold to William Shaw who kept the Knaggs name for the business. Knaggs had advertised that he could provide ‘the finest drugs and chemicals procurable in the London market.’
By 1880 his successor was claiming
that Knagg’s Horse Balls ‘being freshly prepared ensure a proper effect, and thereby possess a great advantage over the stale and useless trash imported from England.’ Quite a turn around!
Being a very working class area – mining being a large employer – by 1888 the many friendly societies in the area had banded together to establish the United Friendly Societies’ Dispensary which apparently had an ‘unsettling influence on local doctors and pharmacies. (Some things never seem to change!) Those at the official opening were highly amused by the ‘grimaces and writhing torture’
of a local alderman who had two teeth
pulled as part of the proceedings.
In 1898 Washington H Soul and Company expanded its Sydney based pharmacy to Newcastle. The company had built a reputation for aggressive marketing of patent medicines. Its arrival in Newcastle ushered in a new era in pharmacy. Apparently, ‘Soul’s policy of undercutting the prices of his competitors and his glitzy, American- style presentation forced chemists to look to their own marketing techniques’. (All this sounds familiar in 2004 with the attempts by supermarkets to move into pharmacy – perhaps there really is nothing new under the sun.)
Ms Melville goes on to describe the evolution of pharmacy through the two world wars and into the late 20th century.
The latter part of the book gives some interesting reflections on Pharmacy Guild politics in the early 1980s when pharmacists in the Hunter Valley, among others, were unhappy with the NSW Guild leadership and formed
the Guild Reform Group which ran a ticket in the next branch elections and managed to have many of its candidates elected. Chapter seven – Defending the profession – continues this theme and gives some interesting insights into the personalities and the events leading to the first guild/government agreement.
An interesting section toward the end of the book is Chapter nine – reflections. It includes short bios of Hunter Valley pharmacists.
In all this is a fascinating social history of pharmacy in the Hunter Valley which, while folksy and simple to read, gives the reader a real flavour of the times and provides a window into the history of the Hunter Valley community.
A history of pharmacy in the Hunter Valley
By Rosemary Melville
Published by the Newcastle and Hunter Valley Pharmacists’ Association, 1997.
Andrew Daniels is Editor of Australian Pharmacist
volume 2 ■ no 24 ■ November 2004
Pharmacy History Australia ■ 11