Yol. ii., No. 6. THE CHEMIST AND DRUGGIST OP AUSTRALASIA. 
171 
WESTERN AUSTRALIA. 
(from our own correspondent.) 
Perth, 20th April, 1887. 
Perth. — This beautiful little city, situated on the banks of 
the Swan River, with a population of between seven and eight 
thousand souls, is about twelve miles from Point Freemantle. 
Owing to a reef running across the month of the Swan River, 
Perth in not approachable by water. This is a great draw- 
back to the city as much time and money would be saved if 
vessels could run up the Swan, and discharge their cargo at 
Perth, instead of having first to discharge it at Freemantle and 
then convey it to Perth by train. However, of this and other 
matters concerning the towns and resources of the colony I 
will say more bye-and-bye. 
In pharmaceutical matters W. Australia is much behind her 
neighbouring colonies, there being no Pharmacy Act or Phar- 
maceutical Society in existence here. Chemists and Druggists 
have no special protection by law, there are only four (4) es- 
tablishments in Perth, and not one of these are attended by 
the owner. The oldest establishment is situated in Howick- 
street, opposite the Town Hall, and is managed by Mr. 
Hymus. This property belongs to the widow and children of 
the late Mr. Birch, and is in the hands of the executors. The 
next is Mr. Mayhew, of Freemantle, also in Howick-street, 
opposite the Library. This was formerly Dr. Waylen’s dis- 
pensary. The manager of this establishment is Mr. McKay. 
The next is Dr. ScotPs dispensary on the Adelaide Terrace, 
dispenser, Mr. Collett. Then comes Dr. Jamieson’s dispen- 
sary in William-Street; dispenser, Mr. Langdon. These are 
the only establishments kept as open shops in the city of Perth 
They are all doing a good trade. There is also a resident 
dispenser kept at the hospital, Mr. Stone. Strange to say, at 
least it seems strange to me, that all drugs and chemicals are 
imported by the retailers from England direct, while in 
the other colonies this is almost unknown to retailers. A 
great deal of this may be owing to the wholesale firms of the 
other colonies giving better terms, while ordering from home 
in a small way means cash in advance, and this is not always 
suitable to those doing but a small business. I should think 
if any of the wholesale firms from the other colonies were to 
open a branch or agency here they would do well, and would 
probably be the means of increasing the number of chemists 
to a considerable extent in a very short time. There are a 
number of small growing townships where a chemist would be 
welcome, and would do a good business. 
The medical profession is somewhat better represented, but 
there is a good opening for two or three active general practi- 
tioners. There are at present in Perth Dr. Waylen, colonial 
surgeon, Dr. Stevenson, resident surgeon, at the hospital, and 
Drs. Scott, Kenny, Jamieson, Holmes, and Ryde. 
Freemantle, the principle seaport town of Western Aus- 
tralia, has a population of about three thousand. There are 
four chemists in business, Mr. R. Birch, High-st., Mr. Cong- 
don. Mayor of Freemantle, High-street, Mr. E. Mayhews, 
High-street, inventor of several proprietary medicines, such 
as W. A. Pain Killer, W. A. Chlorodyne, W. A. Baking Pow- 
der, &c. Mr. E. Mayhew has also another place of business 
in High-street which is managed by Mr. Woods. 
The medical profession is represented by Dr. Barnett, col- 
onial sui'geon. Dr. Hople, surgeon to the prison, and Drs. 
Birmingham and Ingleley. 
By the foregoing you will see that between Freemantle and 
Perth there are only three chemists in business on their own 
account, and these are all in Freemantle, namely, Messrs. E. 
Mayhew, R. Birch, and Congdon. This is a bad state of af- 
fairs, and it is owing more or less to the absence of a wholesale 
firm in the colony, because to open a pharmacy in a colony 
where one cannot get supplies under three or four months 
from the time he orders until the arrival, allowing the supplies 
were ordered from England, would take a considerable amount 
to begin with. I would not advise chemists vsho might wish 
to try their luck in Western Australia to come without means 
or arrange for their supplies with some of the colonial firms. 
I should in all cases prefer to deal with the latter, as far as 
my experience goes I find that the saving of time by dealing 
with colonial firms makes up in many cases above the amount 
.gained in price on small ©rders from England. 
HOW OTHERS SEE US, 
The Seymour Express (Victoria) of May 20 says — “A 
system of supervision, which we trust may soon come into 
existence in Australia, is now being carried on in Great 
Britain. From The Chemist and Druggist we learn that at 
the Westminster police court lately Dr. Farndon was fined for 
dispensing a prescription which did not contain allthe ingre- 
dients which were specified in the document. The fine was 
well merited, for amongst all branches of business there is no- 
thing requiring more careful attention than the compounding 
of medicinal prescriptions.” 
Proprietary Medicines.— The Australasian Medical Gazette 
for May says : — “ The unsatisfactory state of the laws in the 
Australasian colonies with regard to the sale of proprietary 
medicines was shown very obviously by the evidence given at 
an inquest held at Macdonaldtown, a suburb of Sydney, on 
the body of a child, three and a-half years of age, nWed 
Catherine Mabel Jones. The mother had given it a ‘ Sted- 
man’s Soothing Powder,’ an apparent imitation of ‘ Steed- 
man’s Soothing Powder.’ The child was found to be dead a 
few hours after the administration of the powder. A post- 
mortem examination and analysis of the viscera was made, the 
result being that the analyst reported he had found about a 
grain of morphia in the parts submitted to him. He also 
examined six other powders similar to the one given to the 
child, and found them to consist of morphia and magnesia, 
there being from a quarter of a grain to a grain of the former 
in each. With powders containing such a dose of this nar- 
cotic it was no wonder the child died, and as such powders 
are generally made up in hundreds at a time we have not the 
slightest doubt that the deaths of other children have 
occurred from the same cause, and would earnestly warn 
chemists against their sale. We are of opinion that a law 
compelling the registration of the formula from which every 
proprietary medicine is prepared is urgently required, how 
much so will, perhaps, hardly be known until searching 
inquiry is made into the subject. As soon as the committee 
lately appointed by the Legislative Council of N.S.W., on the 
motion of the Editor of this Journal, to examine into the 
state and operation of the laws relating to the practice of 
medicine _ and surgery in that colony, has concluded its 
labours, it is his intention to ask for the appointment of 
another committee to inquire into the subject of the sale of 
proprietary medicines, and to suggest regulations for the 
protection of the public in this matter.” 
The Preshy terian(lil.Z,) is troubled in mind this month about 
the “extraordinary multiplication of what are substantially 
quack advertisements.” The quack advertisements that distress 
him are one of the “ portentous facts” that “ arrest us as we 
glance over our daily pap ers. ’ ’ Met with in glancing over one of 
our religious monthlies, they would wear quite a different cam- 
plexion. I infer as much from the phenomena presented by 
the advertising columns of the Presbyterian. A “celebrated 
specialist” (thus described by himself) guarantees to ciu’e con- 
sumption in its worst stages” — its toorst stages, observe 
“ and all lung diseases.” Then we have the usual announce- 
ment of “family aperient pills,” and “celebrated cough 
syrup,” also an ambiguous statement by a dentist that he has 
just received “ a fresh consignment of gas for painless ex- 
traction”— painless, apparently, to the gas. On another page 
we are exhorted to “ consult personally or by letter” a female 
medical herbalist who has just invented a “ female pill” (Pro- 
fessor Parker’s best biological attention is invited to this) 
a “/ewiaZe pill,” and also an improved female pill,” which 
she sells at 2s. 6d.. 3s. 6d., and 5s. a box, for the cure of 
“ headache, irritable temper, and all attending evils.” After 
reading these things in the Presbyterian's advertising columns, 
I turn again with interest to the Presbyterian's editorial 
against quack advertisements : — 
“A perusal of our daily newspapers forces upon our attention 
another unpleasant fact in the extraordinary multiplication of 
what are substantially quack advertisements. Whole pages 
are filled with them. It goes without saying that this adver- 
tising business pays handsomely. ... The whole thing 
shows how fathomless the abyss of human credulity. 
Our first impulse is to invoke the arm of the law to put a 
stop to what is, virtually, obtaining money on false pretences 
but we are restrained by the reflection that these medicines 
are harmless.” 
This is very charming. The real grievance of the Presbyte- 
rian about quack advertisements seems to be that he doesn’t 
get his fair share.— Ofayo Witness, April 8. 
