Rosewood History. Qld.

Frank Bevan TOMLIN Ph. Bd. – Chemist

© Jane Schy 2025

Frank was born 25th April 1883 at Leichhardt Street, (Spring Hill) Brisbane. Charles Frank Tomlin (Chemist) and Nina née Bevan had 3 children: Frank Bevan, Harold Berry (1884-1935) and Maude Nina (1886-1979).

Frank qualified as a Pharmacist in 1906 and came from Peel Street, Brisbane in March 1907 to open a pharmacy in the main street of Rosewood. His mother and two siblings came with him. 

I’m not sure what happened to his father. He seems to have disappeared. 

New South Wales Police Gazette and Weekly Record of Crime (Sydney : 1860 – 1930), Wednesday 31 January 1900, page 42
Inquiries requested as to the whereabouts of Charles Frank Tomlin. He is about 43 years of age, 5 feet 7 inches high, fair complexion, fair curly hair, grayish-blue eyes, regular nose, slight build, addicted to drink; a chemist; married; a Londoner; has been 40 years in the colonies; was seen on 14th October last in Sydney. Inquiry at the instance of Mrs. Nina Tomlin, c/o Mrs. Walter Tomlin, Indooroopilly, Queensland.

His mother left Rosewood with his two siblings and moved to Wickham Terrace in 1908, possibly so Maude could attend to her studies. Maude passed the Pharmacy Board exams with good results in 1908 and then attended the College of Pharmacy. She passed all subjects with credit in 1910 (Chemistry, Pharmacy, Botany and Metria Medica). She qualified as a Chemist.

While in Rosewood Frank Tomlin

• was the dispensing chemist to the Rosewood Hibernian Society.
• attended St Lukes Church of England.
• was an officer in the Lodge Rosewood, No. 378, S.C.
• was on the committee of the Tennis Club. 
• was on the committee of the School of Arts, and held the office of auditor with Bernard Sloane.
• won first prize for three photographs of landscapes in the Amateur Photography category at the Rosewood Show in 1908.

A country chemist did more than dispense medicine. There were times when a chemist provided basic first aid in the absence of a doctor. e.g. Frank treated Conrad Hedrick’s son Henry from Mount Forbes, when he was bitten by a snake. When James O’Shea from the sawmill badly crushed his fingers, Frank was on the scene to help him.

Frank Tomlin left Rosewood after the big town fire in January 1914. His chemist shop and premises were destroyed. He managed to save his books, but the stock was lost. It was insured for £200, however, Frank estimated his loss was double that.

Frank opened a pharmacy in Lewis Street, Woolloongabba and Maude worked as his assistant. They moved to corner of Wellington Road and Shafston Road, Kangaroo Point, and then to Bondi Beach in Sydney in 1917, where he was registered as a pharmacist in New South Wales on 13th November. Frank opened the “Bondi Beach Pharmacy.” Maude was registered on 10th June 1919, and worked as a Chemist in the pharmacy.

On 4th February 1920, at St. James’ Church, King street, Sydney, Frank married Mary Ellen McGrath from Grafton. Maude was her bridesmaid. They had their wedding reception at the Australia Hotel on Castlereagh Street (pictured at left), where the rich and famous like Katharine Hepburn stayed.

Over the years, and well into the late 1930s, they visited their Rosewood friends Robert and Alice Sellars at their home Oakleigh. Sometimes they attended the Brisbane Exhibition. Robert and Alice Sellars did the same, and visited Frank and Mary at Bondi Beach.

Frank Tomlin died 10th January 1941 at his residence, 56 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach, aged 58 years. He was interred at the Botany Cemetery. [Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park ACC – Anglican FM CC, Position 418]

Mary Ellen died 2nd May 1959, and rests with Frank. 

Maude had a partner in life. Marjorie Whittam was an artist. Maude died in 1979.