Anyone could set up as a Chemist & Druggist until 1837, when the Legislative Council of Van Diemens Land passed an act to regulate the practice of medicine.This Act, which was amended in 1840 and 1842, established the Court of Medical Examiners, a credentialing authority - first for medical practitioners, later for dispensers of medicine, in order to keep unqualified people from practising.
John Wilkinson pre-dated the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain and could well have been entirely self-taught, but he must have been reasonably competent as he reportedly dispensed all of Dr William Crowthers’ prescriptions and conducted a prosperous business. From 1848 he supplied Chloroform to the General Hospital for the new technique of anaesthesia. He apparently did not feel the need to register, as it was not until shortly before his death in 1885 that the Court of Medical Examiners was requested to examine and register him.
His son, Frederick Brooks Wilkinson, who was born in 1838, took over the business and continued until his own death in 1913, whereupon the grandson, Frederick Percival Wilkinson ( Percy ) took over. It is recorded that branch pharmacies also operated at New Norfolk, Huonville, New Town and Battery Point at various times. In his obituary, it was said that F B Wilkinson “Was charitably disposed and for forty years dispensed medicines free of charge for poor people which were prescribed by the late Dr William Crowther”. The Wilkinsons owned the land that the Elwick Racecourse now occupies, which was leased to the TRC in 1874 and later bought by the TRC. Percy Wilkinson was the eldest boy in a family of ten children. He was born in 1862 and lived in Battery Point until his death in 1940. He was a keen Courser, having several greyhounds of his own and was President of the Southern Tasmanian Coursing Club at the time of his death. Percy, although married, was childless so here the Wilkinson succession ceased and the family continued to operate the pharmacy with managers until it was eventually sold to Bob Bester. After a succession of managers, Wilkinsons Pharmacy was absorbed into Ash Besters and in 1955 the property was sold. One of the managers, John McCorquodale, was brought out from Scotland with his young family and lived above the shop in fairly primitive conditions. His experience with farming requirements was important, as Wilkinsons had a large veterinary following. His relationship with Bob Bester was rather stormy, so after only two years he moved on to open his own business north of the city, near the Elwick Racecourse.
At 102 Elizabeth Street, in what was the old Hobart City Hotel premises, Edward Ash established his Chemist & Druggist in around 1860, only a few doors from Wilkinsons. Later this business became Ash & Sons, then Percy Ash, then Ash Sidwell and in 1932 Ash & Sidwell sold to Bob Bester, who had served his apprenticeship at Wilkinsons Pharmacy. For some reason the sale agreement required the name ASH to be retained, so the business was called Ash Bester.
Bester also opened a branch opposite the Hobart GPO in the Colonial Mutual building, but it was closed after only a few years ( a feud had developed between Bob Bester & Harry Sidwell, who in spite of an agreement to the contrary, opened in partnership with his two nephews, Athol and Rex Townley in Elizabeth Street, only a little over a city block away from Ash Bester. Athol Townley later became Minister for Defence in the Fraser Government and is remembered mainly for his purchase of the F 111’s ). Bob Bester had a large photographic business, which gradually took over from the pharmaceutical side and son Jeff Bester sold his authority to dispense Pharmaceutical Benefits in about 1990, although still able to sell medicines and dispense private prescriptions. Jeff ceased the pharmacy business in the year 2000, thus closing a unique chapter in the history of Hobart’s first pharmacy.
In April, 2003, the business closed altogether and everything was sent to auction, which turned out to be an amazing event, as it seemed that nothing had been thrown out for over 100 years! Old medicines long out of date, display cards for products long disappeared, such as “Huon Pine Toothpaste” gruesome veterinary instruments, glassware, prescription books back into the 1800’s scales and measures, to name just some, but of particular interest were two large boxes of assorted labels which turned out to contain 90 unique Wilkinsons Pharmacy labels - all different, varying in age from about 50 to 150 years old, plus about 60 labels from Ash Bester.
This was indeed a treasure trove, as also secured was the formularies that gave details of many of the contents. It is interesting to review the formulae, many of which contained ingredients that would arouse great alarm in today’s health practitioners. They were in common usage, so Wilkinsons’ formulae were not unique and provide an insight into the medicines of the day. The ingredients were seldom divulged, so the public were very trusting with the medicines they ingested. The practice of labelling all prescription medicines The Tablets, The Mixture etc continued well into the 1960’s - a far cry from the “Full Information” ethic that exists today. Incidentally, the practice of labelling medication as a “Cure” (as in “Influenza Cure” ) was forbidden by 1950, as was a claim of “Accurate Dispensing” - after all, what other way could there be of dispensing a prescription?
Medicines of the era in common usage were Tincture of Opium (for diarrhoea) Morphine or Heroin (as cough suppressants) all of which became quite popular, so were eventually banned. Heavy metals like Lead, Mercury & Antimony ( all cumulative poisons ) were frequently used, as was Phenacetin for headaches ( the “P” in APC ) which destroyed kidney function with regular use! Bromides also were popular sedatives that had some nasty effects, but this whole subject will be featured in a future article.
Acknowledgements: Robert Hart (Great-great grandson of John Wilkinson ), Jeff Bester (Ash Bester & Co). The author: Ralph Tapping (Retired Hobart Pharmacist).
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