Historical information

These Victorian-era apothecary scales are from the collection of equipment used by Dr William Bottomley. Dr Bottomley was born in Fitzroy in 1881 and obtained a Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Melbourne in 1906. He lived in South Yarra with a weekend log cabin called Forest Lodge in Emerald and practiced in Collins Street in Melbourne. These weights were used with a scale to dispense correct quantities of drugs or ingredients; the tweezers may have been used to combine substances on the glass slide ready for use.

In the 1920s Dr Bottomley and business partner W.H. Treganowan initiated the Emerald Country Club syndicate to purchase land from Carl Axel Nobelius' Gembrook Nurseries estate, which led to the formation of the golf course and Country Club facilities. Bottomley Drive in Emerald is named after Dr Bottomley; the street is located near Silver Birches, the house commissioned by the doctor from modernist architect Harry Norris.

These weights were used with a scale to dispense correct quantities of drugs or ingredients; the tweezers may have been used to combine substances on the glass slide ready for use. The apothecary system of weights was tailored to measuring medicinal ingredients; it and the Troy system (which was used for measuring precious metals such as silver and gold) both have twelve ounces to the pound, in comparison to the Avoirdupois method which was used for heavier items and had sixteen ounces to the pound. These measurement systems were used extensively throughout the world until the 1960s when the widespread adoption of the metric system standardised processes.

Significance

These items are significant as they provide insights into medical practice in the early Twentieth-Century in Melbourne and surrounds. They are also significant because they were used by Dr William Bottomley, who owned property in Emerald and whose business dealings significantly shaped the development of the town.

Physical description

Wooden box with a metal latch, maker's label and owner's name. Inside the box there is a black cloth lining to encase eight brass and five tin weights, a glass slide and tweezers. There is space for an additional brass weight and eight tin weights, but these spaces are empty.

Inscriptions & markings

Obverse:
D W H BOTTOMLEY /
H.B SELBY & CO. LTD. /
SCIENTIFIC APPARATUS /
MELBOURNE & SYDNEY /