This page has information about the current exhibition as well as links to previous exhibitions. Many of the previous exhibitions are online.
Current exhibition
Celebrating Pharmacy
5 April to 25 June 2013
In 2013 the School of Pharmacy at the University of Otago celebrates its 50th Jubilee, a milestone that also represents 50 years of a degree qualification for New Zealand pharmacists and the first four-year pharmacy degree in Australasia. The School started life as the Department of Pharmacy in 1960 and the first three students completed their Bachelor of Pharmacy in 1965.
Pharmacist training in New Zealand was originally based on an apprenticeship system. Trainees were indentured to a registered pharmacist and worked in their pharmacy. They also sat two examinations, Pharmacy B and C, which were run by the Pharmacy Board.
In 1958 the New Zealand government decided that most pharmacists from 1960 would train through a two-year full-time course at the Central Technical College at Petone (near Wellington) with a university degree course at the University of Otago reserved for a small number of pharmacists requiring more advanced training. In 1989 the government announced that a degree would become the minimum qualification for all New Zealand pharmacists and that pharmacy would be taught on one site only at the University of Otago. In 1991 the School of Pharmacy was established with an intake of 100 students.
The exhibition From Apprentice to Graduate, 50 Years of Pharmacy Education at the University of Otago, 1963-2013 first features a selection of botanicals as originally most medicines were directly derived from plants. It then looks briefly at pharmacists in Britain as this country had considerable influence on developments in New Zealand. The exhibition spans the history of pharmacy education in New Zealand from the nineteenth century to the present day and also touches on the broader history of pharmacy in New Zealand.
Thanks to the Hocken Collections, the Medical Library, the Central Library, Special Collections, University of Otago, the School of Pharmacy, and various private collections for items on display.
Exhibition poster (890K in PDF format)
Exhibition handlist (414K in PDF format)
The exhibition runs through to 25 June 2013. 'Celebrating Pharmacy'
de Beer Gallery, Special Collections, 1st floor, Central University Library
5 April - 25 June 2013
Hours: 8.30 to 5.00
Monday to Friday
For further details contact Dr. Donald Kerr, Special Collections Librarian, University of Otago Library, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, 9011, donald.kerr@otago.ac.nz; (03) 479-8330
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Past exhibitions
20 December 2012 - 22 March 2013 From Pigskin to Paper: The Art and Craft of Bookbinding 21 September - 13 December 2012 Celebrating Charles Dickens (1812-1870) 22 June - 14 September 2012 Charting the Land on the Ocean: Pacific Exploration, 1520-1876 23 March - 15 June 2012 Ray Guns & Rocket Ships. The Fred Fastier Science Fiction Collection 21 December 2011 to 16 March 2012 The Gentleman's Magazine: The 18th century answer to Google 30 September - 16 December 2011 In Search of Scotland 1 July - 23 September 2011 Experimental Philosophy: old and new 1 April - 17 June 2011 Forging a Magical Landscape: The Works of Robert Graves, Poet 17 December 2010 - 25 March 2011 Faces of Authorship: Constructing the Author in Medieval and Early Modern Books 27 August to 10 December 2010 Pulp Fiction 14 May - 20 August ALL ABOARD! The Ernie Webber Railway Collection 8 February - 7 May Footnotes on Official History: Celebrating Dr Hocken's Pamphlet Collection 30 October 2009 - 29 January 2010 Heresy, Sedition, Obscenity: The Book Challenged 13 July - 23 October 2009 'I sat down in the evening to read...' Books from the Library of Charles Brasch, Poet, 1909-1973 8 April - 3 July 2009 Beetles, Barnacles, Orchids, and the Origin of Species: Charles Darwin and His Legacy 19 December 2008 - 27 March 2009 A Record of Achievement: The 50th Birthday of the Otago University Press 29 August - 12 December 2008 Nourishing the Roots: an exhibition celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Robert Burns Fellowship at the University of Otago 5 May - 22 August 2008 Éire á Móradh: Singing the Praises of Ireland 25 February - 25 April 2008 Rare Delights II: Recent Additions to Special Collections 20 December 2007 - 1 February 2008 RETROSPECTIVE: A look back at the last 21 Special Collections exhibitions 17 October to 14 December 2007 Initials: In the Beginning... 6 July to 28 September 2007 Linnaeus, Prince of Botanists: His Works and Legacy 11 April to 29 June 2007 A Quick Stab at the Eighteenth Century 12 December 2006 - 30 March 2007 Master of the Burin: the book illustrations of John Buckland Wright, 1897-1954 4 September - 1 December 2006 In the Flesh. The Monro Dynasty 1720-1846. 1 June - 25 August 2006 The Black Art: Hand-printing in the Bibliography Room, 1961-2005 10 February - 26 May 2006 West Meets East: Images of China and Japan, 1570 to 1920 17 October 2005 - 27 January 2006 Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass 11 July - 23 September 2005 The Word on Modernism: How Books Aided a Revolution in Design 11 April - 24 June 2005 "£100 & a butt of sack yearly" The office of the poet laureate 20 December 2004 - 31 March 2005 Straight Jackets: the Art of the Book Jacket 20 September - 10 December 2004 'A Civilising Mission' : New Zealanders and the Rhodes Scholarship 1904 - 2004 24 June - 10 September 2004 41 Stunning Books: A selection of modern private press books 23 March - 11 June 2004 Glimpses of London's Past 25 November 2003 - 12 March 2004 He tirohanga ki muri ~ A view of the past 4 July - 17 November 2003 Harmonizing my starting place: Charles Brasch, patron, poet and collector 21 March - 27 June 2003 Cultivating Gardens: Practical garden advice through the ages 13 December 2002 - 13 March 2003 Rare Delights: recent additions to Special Collections 12 September - 28 November 2002 Unpacking Ruins: architecture from antiquity 21 June - 1 September 2002 Enlarging the prospects of happiness: European travel writing through the ages 21 March - 13 June 2002 Portrait of a gentleman scholar: celebrating the life and legacy of Esmond de Beer ^ Top of page
Exhibition gallery location
Exhibitions are mounted in: The de Beer Gallery
First Floor
Central Library
65 Albany Street
Dunedin
Open 8.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.
Monday to Friday
Contact the Special Collections Librarian for enquiries and consultations.
