Times have changed and the old adage that a daughter’s choice of career was to become either a nurse, a secretary or a teacher has, mercifully, ceased. Of course these are admirable professions but for decades now, thanks to women like Princess Loveheart and Margaret Sneddon Bickle AO FPS mothers have inspired their daughters and nurtured their dreams of alternatives.
Princess Miranda became known as Loveheart because of her skill at making love potions for folk who couldn’t seem to love themselves. She had a specially designed apothecary down in the cellars of the castle. As word spread her establishment grew in patronage and was actually a forerunner of the kind of pharmacy Australian, Margaret Sneddon Bickle worked in over 70 years ago.
In an interview Bickle said “There weren’t a lot of opportunities for women in 1947. I contemplated going to university and becoming a teacher. But I was influenced by a friend who was a pharmacist. She told me how good a career it was. She proved to be correct.
Pharmacy was very different then. We made many of our own products, such as mixtures, eyedrops, powders, creams and ointments. You were trained to be exact and meticulous, and while there was always oversight, you learned quickly that your judgement was important. Much of that remains true for pharmacists today.”
These women are skilled goddesses whose work has touched the lives of many.
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