Page 9 - Pharmacy History 33 November 2007

Country Chemistry – A Heritage Tale
By Geoff Miller
Take a moment to look at these pictures of two quaint country style shop buildings. One is at Millthorpe near Orange in New South Wales and the other at Dwellingup, a former timber mill town in the hills south of Perth.
Dwellingup WA
Take a moment to look at these pictures of two quaint country style shop buildings. One is at Millthorpe near Orange in New South Wales and the other at Dwellingup, a former timber mill town in the hills south of Perth.
The similarity of the buildings is quite remarkable, although they were both “purpose built”. Grant’s Pharmacy Museum housed an extensive collection of pharmacy and dental artefacts gathered over thirty years by retired builder Eddie Grant. He had caught the collecting bug initially by picking up embossed Chemist bottles, and then expanded into anything connected with pharmacy, especially
old proprietary medicines and decorative ceramic and glassware..
Millthorpe NSW
The Millthorpe Chemist shop was built in 1900 by pharmacist F.W. Hockey, and was operated as the village pharmacy until his death in 1941.
Of recent years the old building, now called “Hockey’s Accommodation”, has been reborn as a cottage for “romantic getaways”. The original dispensary bench has been replaced with a modern dining and kitchen area, and the store room converted to a bedroom with en-suite.
A nearby eatery is appropriately named “Tonic”
About 5 years ago Eddie Grant decided to move away from Dwellingup to be closer to his family and his collection was offered on permanent loan to the Shire of Coolgardie, as a tourist attraction.
Interior, Grant’s Pharmacy Museum in Dwellingup before its move to Coolgardie
It now resides in a heritage goldfields building, suitably displayed in beautiful show cases fashioned by Eddie himself.
This is a “must see” stop for travellers with a pharmacy interest.
volume 4 ■ no 34 ■ February 2008
Pharmacy History Australia ■ 9