Pioneering Australian Pharmaceutical Research
Considen used indigenous Australian plants to alleviate a range of diseases which scourged the convict settlement, including scurvy and dysentery. Pharmaceutical preparations included kino from Eucalyptus and Angophora, 'yellow gum' resin from Xanthorrhoea spp., native sarsaparilla Smilax glyciphylla and the 'large peppermint-tree' Eucalyptus piperita.
In November 1788 Considen proclaimed himself to English colleague, Dr Anthony Hamilton, as the colony's pharmaceutic pioneer: "...if there is any merit in applying these & many other simples to the benefit of the poor wretches here, I certainly claim it, being the first who discovered & recommended them.". For further evaluation, Considen also dispatched a Eucalyptus oil sample, on the return voyage to England on the Golden Grove.
The Australian botanist, Joseph Maiden, expressed the opinion that Considen deserves credit for being the first person to recognize the medicinal value of eucalyptus oil extracted from E. piperita found growing on the shores of Port Jackson. John White, Surgeon General to the Colony, is also credited with the discovery of peppermint gum oil, in documenting the matter and organizing oil samples to be sent back to England.
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