Page 7 - Pharmacy History 32 July 2007

December 30, 1933
By William H. Elsum, First Secretary of PATA of Victoria.
The question is often asked who was the first pharmacist in the Colony of Victoria as compared with who opened the first pharmacy in Melbourne.
Gregory Haines in his A History of Pharmacy in Victoria (1994) notes that the first chemist shop in Melbourne was opened by the surgeon Barry Cotter.
Cotter arrived in 1835 as part of the settlement led by Batman on behalf of the short lived Port Phillip Association. He came as an intending pastoralist, but when the Association’s medical officer, Alexander Thomson decided to invest in land and sheep instead of health and cures Cotter was installed as government medical officer at the end of 1836. He held this position until September 1837, to become Melbourne’s first private medical practitioner. As many physicians and surgeons then did in England. Cotter worked from a shop.
Cotter even advertised some of his household wares and medicines in the “Port Phillip Gazette”.
But who was Melbourne’s first retail chemist?
Some early historians have given this distinction to Daniel Rutter Long, who arrived in Port Phillip in 1840 and established a pharmacy in Bourke Street, Melbourne.
By 1849 George Lewis had opened a pharmacy in Collins Street and Thomas O Dunstone had opened in Bourke Street.
However, the most notable of figure among the early Chemists was Samuel Croad. who advertised in the Port Phillip Gazette that he was open for business on 8th January 1850.
From Croad to Cossar
Mr SJT Croad, was born in Hampshire, England, in 1819 1, and after finishing his education, decided to take up pharmacy, and entered the service of Messrs. Allen, Hanburys and Barry, with whom he received his early pharmaceutical training.
He remained with this firm for some years until he married Miss Elizabeth Wilkes and he then decided to retire and leave England to try his fortune in Australia.
On his arrival in Melbourne, Mr Croad lost no time in entering into active business life.
SJT Croad
He secured a shop in Bourke Street, a few doors from Swanston Street and commenced business there as a chemist and druggist on January 8th 1850.
At this time Melbourne was in a very primitive state. Bourke Street was unformed, the streets were not curbed or channeled, the first pavement laid down in the footpath in Bourke-street was in front of Mr Croad’s shop and consisted of tessellated tiles imported by him.
Shortly after commencing business, Croad moved to new premises which were much more salubrious and this chemist’s business eventually became H. Francis and Co.
Upon the discovery of gold in Victoria, an enormous impetus was given to business, and Bourke Street, in the vicinity of the Post Office, was the great place of meeting. The Albion Hotel, was the great coaching house, and at 12 o’clock each day the six- horse coaches of Cobb and Co. left for Ballarat, Bendigo, and Beechworth, as well as for all the minor country places. It is small wonder, therefore, that
Mr. Croad succeeded in building up in his new premises a magnificent business. At that time the hundreds of proprietary medicines which are now sold were unknown, and Holloway’s Pills and Ointment and Cockle’s
Pills were about the only proprietary medicines on the market
In common with the majority of the population of Melbourne at that time, Croad did not escape the wild gold fever which prevailed in 1851 and with a party of five other Melbourne citizens, he left for Ballarat in a bullock dray, the journey occupying six weeks.
(Cont. page 10)
volume 3 ■ no 32 ■ JULY 2007
Pharmacy History Australia ■ 7