The slogan for New Zealand’s "national tonic", Lane’s Emulsion, could apply to this year’s Oamaru Victorian Heritage Celebrations as well.
And not only because this year’s theme for the celebrations — "A Year to Reflect on the Intriguing World of Medicine in the Victorian Era" — was inspired by the cure-all that sold 20 million bottles from its conception in 1886. Its popularity also helped put Oamaru on the map, longtime Victorian celebrations supporter Bevan Crombie said.
Mr Crombie, of Crombie and Price, which holds the rights to Lane’s Emulsion and produced the tonic in Harbour St until 1980, said there was some intrigue surrounding Edward Lane’s Victorian emulsion.
He continued to import ingredients to fill the recipe — including its original preservative. He required 20 hogsheads of French or South African brandy to make the stuff and every year he ordered 40 48-gallon barrels of Norwegian cod liver oil. As it used only the yolks of eggs, the whites were used to make pavlovas; and limited by what was available at the time, the expectorant he used was the wood preservative creosote.
Tourism Waitaki events co-ordinator Brooke Kofoed, who organised this year’s events, said she soon learnt supporters of the celebrations could twist the theme to cover all manner of activities, such as the breakfast theatre of Professor Franken Acidspurter, the Apothecary Tea Party and concert organist Kemp English’s "Organ Transplant".
Totara Estate’s heritage schools programme included looking at herbal remedies on Victorian-era farms and, judging by its success, the celebrations from November 16 to November 20 were expected to draw crowds from across the region, she said.
Schools that had attended the programme included Waikouaiti School and Flag Swamp School to the south and Glenavy School to the north.
Waitaki Tourism Association chairman James Glucksman said he believed the event was reaching an audience "further and farther afield".
"There seems to be a lot of things moving to make it seem more appealing, more welcoming, for people wanting to experience Oamaru’s Victorian heritage," he said.
