End of an era at Japps

After almost 70 years, Allan Japp has passed on the baton to new partner in the business, Mina Malek. Allan’s son, Michael (right) will continue as majority shareholder. Story on page 3. Image: The Riverine Grazier/Margie McClelland.

By Tertia Butcher

It was the end of an era last week when Hay’s pharmacist of close to 70 years finally passed on the baton.

“The time has come,” Allan Japp told The Riverine Grazier after signing over his share of Japp’s Pharmacy to Mina Malek who had been working with him for the past two-and-a-half years.

Allan’s son Michael will continue managing the business as the majority shareholder alongside Mina.

“To be a fully registered pharmacist in NSW requires annual training. You need points annually to keep practising.

“It’s time to hand in my ticket.

“I’ve just turned 87 and have remained actively involved in Japp’s Pharmacy until last Monday.

“It’s been good to keep an interest in the business and not have sole responsibility for the whole show such as finding the right staff.

“Getting any qualified person to come to Hay is becoming harder. We’ve seen that trying to attract solicitors, dentist, optometrist.”

Japp’s Pharmacy was lucky to attract Mina, who moved to Hay with his wife Marina two years ago.

Both Allan and Michael agree that Mina has been a great addition to Japp’s Pharmacy as he has a genuine sense of care for the local community.

As a part owner of Japp’s Pharmacy Mina is looking forward to playing a greater role in the Hay community.

Japp’s Pharmacy was established in 1933 by Allan’s father, Gibson Herman Japp who ran the business for 33 years.

Allan started his apprenticeship in 1955 with his father for two years before moving to Melbourne for a further two years.

After doing some locum work, he returned to Hay in 1960 when the business was undergoing frontshop alteration.

“There had been three pharmacies prior to Dad buying out Rogers and Glyde in 1946-47 and later in 1981 we bought out Brian Tellefson,” he recalled.

“In 1956 Dad bought the current premises and they lived up and downstairs which made a lot of sense.

“Jeni and I also lived there, so did Michael and Sara for a while and Mina and Marina now occupy it.

“Initially the pharmacy took up only a quarter of the front shop with a saddlery and tailor at the rear.

“There was no cooling and heating. The first thing we did was to put in a heater.”

Allan is from an era when pharmacies sold toiletries, in addition to the dispensary.

Supermarkets today have taken over basic toiletries and are trying to get a grip on dispensary items which is a concern for pharmacists.

Allan is from an era of compounding pharmacists.

“I first learnt this while working in Hay and also in Toorak, before returning to Hay.

“Compounding is putting drugs into specially flavoured liquids, topical creams, transdermal gels, suppositories, or other dosage forms suitable for patients' individual needs.

“We created medicine using base ingredients as many patients are allergic to preservatives or dyes, or are sensitive to standard drug strengths.

“There used to be a lot more mixtures, oils and creams made up but ingredients are becoming a little hard to acquire for compounding.

“Doctors used to prescribe what they wanted in the concentrations of ingredients.

Now it’s basically all pre-packaged.”

Earlier in his career Allan considered changing his studies to medicine, but the thought of Drs Brady and Bonwick having no time to themselves put him of that idea.

Dentistry was another fleeting consideration.

His great-grandfather had a proud 85-year involvement in the media, first entering the newspaper industry in Deniliquin with the Pastoral Times before moving to Albury in the late 1850s to buy the Albury Banner.

A career in the media too, did no appeal to Allan as it did for his mother.

“The pharmacy provided us with a good life,” he said.

“In Hay you can have as many interests as you like, and go off and see the rest of the world, or bring the world to Hay.”

Allan has spent decades volunteering.

He was an honorary ambulance driver, an Apexian, Rotarian and served on the hospital board in the days when it was a fully operational hospital with an operating theatre.

He was the Salvos’ representative for distributing funds for needy causes for many years and remains an active and supportive member of Hay Golf Club.

These days he can mostly be found in the garden, trying to keep Jeni’s roses alive.