During the 1940s, JC Minnis became Mayor of the City of Ipswich, his medical expertise quickly recognised and he was constantly called upon for medical advice. Many of his 'patients', mostly infants, suffered from colic and wind complaints,
diarrhoea, boils, colds and flu. JC decided to mix his own remedies for these common complaints - such as
diarrhoea mixture, Indian Cerate - drawing ointment for boils, Red Acid Cure for coughs and many others.
By far - the most sought after and popular remedy was Infants' Friend Oral Liquid - JC Minnis' cure for infants with colic and wind. Infants' Friend went on to be sold through Minnis Pharmacy in downtown Ipswich - until about 1950.
At that time, a travelling sales representative from the pharmaceutical warehouse called on his rounds to JC and complained about a bad night he had just had - with a child with wind and colic. JC gave the sales rep a bottle of Infants' Friend to take home - apparently it worked wonders and so much so, that the sales rep talked JC into stocking Infants' Friend in his company's warehouse. This led to Infants' Friend being available to all of Queensland, but (still hand made in JC Minnis' Pharmacy).
JC Minnis died in 1954 - but the tradition lived on, with Infants' Friend Oral Liquid still produced in the continuing Minnis Pharmacy.
The number of enquiries increased dramatically due to personal recommendations from mother to daughter and so on. Because of the health regulations of the time - Infants' Friend could only be sold in Queensland, and this continued until 1985. During this year, a major fire in Ipswich City wiped out a large part of the Central Business District - but Minnis Pharmacy survived. Due to major construction works in the city heart - Minnis's Pharmacy was sold by JC Minnis' daughter - the sole survivor of the immediate family.
Also in 1985, Geoff Price - a loyal and trusted pharmacy assistant with Minnis Pharmacy for many years was given the formula for Infants' Friend - under agreement with the Minnis Family Trust. Geoff then had the product manufactured under approved laboratory conditions and continued to distribute Infants' Friend throughout Queensland - still heavily in demand.
During the late 80's, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) was in the process of establishment, and all medicines etc were required to be registered under this government authority. Once TGA registered - this then allowed Geoff to distribute Infants' Friend throughout all of Australia. Due to the shifting population, especially Air Force personnel from Amberley airbase in Ipswich, Infants' Friend became in a great demand on the interstate chemist's shelves, and a household name in all states of Australia.
Infants' Friend has gone from strength to strength - but the product remains the same. Now, in 2003, another chapter in the long history of Infants' Friend sees Geoff Price selling his beloved lifetime pursuit of Infants' Friend, to a friend of his - Neil McPhillips, who has partnered with local accountant, Gregory Walsh - to ensure the Infants' Friend tradition continues to remain in Ipswich - servicing Australia. Neil and Greg would like to see the product one day sitting on international pharmacy shelves.
Infants' Friend is only sold through chemists - it is NOT available in the supermarkets, and Infants' Friend Pty Ltd sees this as an important component in ensuring the product remains the same as when JC Minnis first formulated it some
80 years ago.
Infants' Friend is a professional medicine, although prescription is not required. A number of
paediatricians throughout Australia are actually recommending Infants' Friend Oral Liquid to nursing mothers with infants suffering from colic and wind.
Infants' Friend contains no scheduled drugs, and is basically a mixture of healthy aromatic and carminative oils and antacids. This means Infants' Friend is extremely well tolerated, and given the small dosages required, is great value for money - the same it was when JC Minnis first started making it in the main street of Ipswich -
80 years ago.