125 stories for 125 years

Miriel Witt

1905 - 2005

Before enrolling at the college, Miriel Witt was employed by Henry Francis and Co., then the largest pharmaceutical firm in Victoria, as senior assistant in the Myer branch. 

Miriel was a student at the college from 1924 to 1927 and winner of a pharmacy Gold Medal. Subsequent jobs were in suburban, country and city pharmacy, a time during which Miriel met many interesting people.

In 1943 A.T.S. Sissons, dean of the college, asked Miriel to join the staff. Many male students were in the military call up, and there were a large number of female students. He and the council thought it was time they appointed a woman, so Miriel became the first woman permanently appointed to the staff and one of the first two female pharmacy teachers in Australia.

Initially a demonstrator in pharmaceutical chemistry and in dispensing, Miriel was asked to assist in the library, which had been neglected for years, so she went to night classes to learn about librarianship. Miriel continued as a lecturer in pharmacognosy before travelling overseas and attending the International Pharmaceutical Federation conference in Rome.

Miriel, along with Dawn Sayers, was a founding member of the Women Pharmaceutical Chemists’ Association of Victoria.The hard-working organisation disbanded in 1979 as members had succeeded in reaching their goals, which included equal pay for female pharmacists, establishment of the ‘continuing education’ lectures, representation on major industry bodies and the formation of a national body. The women who formed the group still meet annually.

With a sense of humour, Miriel was happy to talk about her time as a pharmacist. ‘The practice of pharmacy has altered immeasurably over the years,’ she said. ‘I remember when I lived in a country town, there was one pharmacist and he pulled teeth. They did everything in those days.’

Miriel retired from the college in 1965 at age 60, and was soon invited to work for Henry Francis and Co., where she stayed for 15 years. Sadly, Miriel died in 2005.