125 stories for 125 years

The Cossar Family

The Cossar family were the principal owners of the Henry Francis pharmacies for over 80 years.

In 1860 Henry Francis purchased a pharmacy in Bourke Street, Melbourne that had been established in 1849. In 1919 David Cossar bought the business from George Francis, the son of Henry. Since then the pharmacy has been passed down through the family and its success can be seen by the number of branches that were established throughout Australia, and its fame in Melbourne.

David Cossar qualified in 1903. He served on the council of the Pharmaceutical Society of Victoria for 36 years, including four years as president during World War I. He did much to raise the professional standing of pharmacists among the medical community. Henry Francis and Co. was a foundation member
of the Federated Pharmaceutical Services Guild of Australia, established in the late 1920s, and in 1933 they established a pharmacy in Myer Melbourne.

During World War I, David held the senior position of Assistant Director, General Medical Services (Pharmaceutical) with the Australian Army and was sent overseas for a year to examine medical supply methods in places of war. He made significant improvements by coordinating and rationalising the activities of two English depots. He was also instrumental in obtaining commissioned rank for pharmacists. In later years he was often referred to as ‘The Major’.

David and his family were generous benefactors to the college. During its relocation from Swanston Street to its current location in Parkville, David donated £25,000 to the industry-wide appeal.A pharmacy journal noted his donation was ‘possibly the largest single gift made to a pharmaceutical teaching institution in Australia at any time’, and was in fact double the amount of the next largest donation to the appeal. Cossar Hall in the Sissons building was named after David in gratitude for his contribution to the college. The hall is the home of the Sisson’s Mural and now serves as a lecture theatre, function room, tutorial and meeting rooms. Sadly David did not live to see the new college, dying on 25 January 1960, two months before the opening.

Norman Cossar, David’s son, graduated from the college in 1930. In 1948 Norman joined his father as a junior partner of Henry Francis and Co. He joined the Pharmaceutical Defence Ltd board in 1949 and was nominated, in 1952, to become the Victorian representative on the Pharmacy Journal Management Committee, a position he held for the next 21 years. Norman, Harry Braithwaite, Eric Scott and T.G. Allen were instrumental in founding the Prescriptions Proprietaries Guide. The guide, now known as the Prescriptions Products Guide, developed from a useful cross-referenced guide of manufacturers’ prescription products to a valuable, comprehensive reference currently in its 34th edition. Norman was regarded by many at the time as the most creative thinker in Victorian pharmacy.

In 1936 Norman married Inez Bowe Johns, before moving to Adelaide to manage a new pharmacy branch in Myer. A year later Inez gave birth to their first son, Brian. After service in the Australian Army, Norman and his family returned to live in Melbourne.

After the death of his father Norman became the senior partner, with his wife a shareholder and director of Henry Francis (Wholesale) Pty Ltd. Norman was responsible for the expansion of the family business from the 1950s onwards, and in 1972 there were 25 pharmacies in five states, with 15 in the ever-expanding Myer stores. In the 1960s an increased range of own-name products, including a dozen vitamin lines, was introduced.

Brian Cossar qualified in 1960. He was in the last group of students to go through the apprenticeship system and saw the last year of the old Swanston Street building. After graduation Brian sailed to England, to work in London for the next two years. When he returned to Australia he managed pharmacy branches in Sydney and Brisbane for three years, becoming a junior partner in 1968.

In 1981 Norman, 72 years old, dissolved his partnership with Brian. Ten pharmacies were transferred to Brian, with Norman retaining one in the city. The branches within the Myer stores were slowly being closed or relocated. In 1982 Henry Francis Chemists became a franchise. The pharmacy was streamlined and became more like the pharmacies of today. Advertisements appeared on television and radio stations, a logo was created, and new services were introduced, such as ear piercing, photographic services and passport photos.

Brian was elected to the Victorian branch of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia in 1990, representing the pharmacists in the central business district and inner suburbs of Melbourne until 1996. He was also treasurer of Community and Pharmacy Support (CAPS) in Victoria. CAPS was an Australia-wide pharmacy group formed to fight Federal Government changes to the National Health Scheme. It helped to strengthen the Pharmacy Guild of Australia’s negotiations with the government, leading to the first Guild–Government agreement in 1991.

In 2001, Brian sold the last Henry Francis pharmacy, next to Myer Melbourne in Little Bourke Street. He continues to support the college.

Reference: Sharpe, D and Sharpe K, Pharmacy Families, Henry Francis in Australia 1849–1999, 1999.