The little-known history of New Zealand’s first female pharmacist, Elizabeth Robinson

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The little-known history of New Zealand’s first female pharmacist, Elizabeth Robinson

Jonathan
Chilton-Towle
Christchurch Cashel Street_1868 Credit: Canterbury Museum
Christchurch’s Cashel Street, pictured here in 1868, was the location of the pharmacy owned by New Zealand’s first female pharmacist, Elizabeth Robinson Credit: Canterbury Museum

Not much is known about the first female pharmacist in New Zealand, Elizabeth Robinson. But at a time when most women in pharmacy were unpaid and unrecognised helpers to their husbands, Elizabeth became a registered chemist and pharmacy owner. Jonathan Chilton-Towle tells her story

In 1881, Elizabeth Robinson of Christchurch became the first woman to register as a pharmacist in New Zealand. We don’t know much else about her l, Elizabeth Robinson, Elizabeth Robinson was the first woman to register as a pharmacist in New Zealand