Page 9 - Pharmacy History 32 July 2007

McBride had served his apprenticeship with a Mr McMullen in Atherton, NQ, passing his final examination in 1925.
In 1928 he opened a pharmacy Cairns where he bought coral to paint and sell to tourists from an itinerant worker by the name of Errol Flynn!
The pharmacy was still known
as McBride’s, until recently. In
1936, McBride joined Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, where he helped develop Amphojel, and detailed it
on the east coast from Melbourne to Cairns. While travelling, he decided to make Bundaberg his home, buying out Carroll in 1939. McBride continued until July 1969, but he died in December of the same year.
The practice then became ‘Hyne’s Pharmacy’ and Richard H Hyne continued with the McBride philosophy of service excellence which had made this small pharmacy a success.
In 1997, I became the proprietor, fully conscious of the history of the place and it was also the ideal location for the collection of artefacts handed down to me from the four generations of pharmacists in my family, and added to by my father Radley.
Part of the Pharmacy antique collection
I introduced compounding to the business in 2003, and that has added tremendously to my enjoyment of my profession.
At the time of writing this article I am happy to report that Richard Hyne
is still alive and well, unlike previous owners who worked to the last.
Sadly, time and consumerism have caught up with this small pharmacy. There were four other pharmacies with a 50 metre radius, including a Friendly Society, and a recently refitted Priceline Pharmacy.
Twelve months ago, a Warehouse Pharmacy opened only two doors from the local Amcal, and suddenly there were six of us in the CBD of a town of 50,000 people. The writing was on the wall!
I was approached by the Malouf Group to relocate into a new shopping centre just outside of town, where they will buy a share in the pharmacy, look after all the paperwork, front shop, staff
and figures, and I go back to being a pharmacist- sounds too good to resist!
It was a tough decision, to leave a site with over a century of pharmacy history, but sadly, the face of pharmacy in the main street of Bundy has changed, and not for the better.
A couple of years ago, I purchased a bronze plaque to set into the pavement in front of the shop, so there will be an enduring reminder of what once was.
1. Radley West. A Dynasty of Fox Pharmacies. Pharmacy History Australia, Mar 2005;3(25). (Australian Academy of the History of Pharmacy, Canberra Australia.)
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volume 3 ■ no 33 ■ NOVEMBER 2007
Pharmacy History Australia ■ 9
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