As Coady’s Pharmacy in Caringbah, celebrates their 75th anniversary of caring for their customers, it seems fitting to reflect on the life and times of it’s founder Gerry Coady. He was a pharmacist, family man, community leader, a breeder of prize-winning poultry and respected judge of the Royal Agricultural Society, a prankster and major contributer to the commercial development of the suburb. In 1946, Caringbah was about to experience a massive change as population increased and the commercial strip along Kingsway began to develop. Coady’s may have been the first but it was not the last and to be still there after all this time is reason to celebrate.

Gerald Roy Joseph Coady was born on 30th September 1914 in Canowindra, NSW, the ninth and youngest son of William and Mary Coady. Being the youngest it was decided that he would be sent to board at St Joseph’s College at Hunter’s Hill where he would complete his Leaving Certificate. 

Gerry enjoyed his time at St Joey’s, took part in rugby and rowing and did well at physics, chemistry and mathematics. He passed the Leaving Certificate and enrolled in Pharmacy at Sydney University becoming the first in the Coady family to attend university.

At the time, the Pharmacy course was an apprenticeship system where students were indentured to a registered pharmacist and had to work when not attending lectures. During his apprenticeship, Gerry worked at various pharmacies including Hurstville and Kings Cross, very different from life in Canowindra. 

About this time, Gerry met Pat Holohan and during their courtship World War 2 broke out. As Gerry was a registered pharmacist, he was exempt from active service. Instead, Gerry successfully applied for a job in the NSW town of Wellington. In December 1942, a son, Peter Joseph, was born and in February 1946 Gerry decided to start his own business and thought Caringbah in the Sutherland Shire would be a good place.

Although the rail link from Sutherland to Cronulla had been opened in 1939, it was only post war that massive development took place. Many ex-servicemen settled in Caringbah (especially Nth Caringbah) and school enrolments exploded. Gerry and Pat also welcomed Paula to their family.

Coady’s chemist opened in Caringbah on 2nd of August 1946 in a small shop that Gerry rented and purchased the vacant block next door with the intention of building larger premises in the future. Coady’s was the first chemist in Caringbah and one of only a handful in the Sutherland Shire at that time. Gerry didn’t have a car then, so he bought a Lambretta motor scooter so he could offer a delivery service. In the next few years, the family welcomed sons Matthew, Christopher and Bernard and another daughter, Margaret, 14 years younger than Peter.

As Caringbah grew the business prospered and Gerry trained many apprentices including Judith Harrison who finished pharmacy and then became a doctor. At about this time I was a student and working in the holidays and Saturday’s at Coady’s. In 1950, Gerry decided it was time to build his own shop on the vacant block. It was built by Ernest Salisbury-Baker and was to be double story with the upper story to be rented. With a wide frontage there was room for Dick Holohan, Pat’s crippled brother, to set up a gift shop and jewellers. I remember how excited we all were as we carried boxes from the old shop to the new one and stocked the shelves.

Over the years, a range of tenants occupied the first floor including Cronulla-Sutherland Leagues Club, estate agents, a SP bookie, solicitors and a depot of the Commonwealth Drug company, the main supplier of items for the pharmacy.

The business continued to thrive; apprentices were employed, completed their course and started their own businesses. With his interest in showing poultry, Gerry developed many ointments related to their care and treatment. For his apprentices making these up was something they would not learn at university. He wrote booklets on the “fancy” and different breed of fowls and was invited to become a poultry judge by the Royal Agricultural Society. He also appeared several times on Burke’s Backyard.

In 1963, Peter Coady received his Degree of Bachelor of Pharmacy and joined his father in the family business. Gerry had problems with his back for many years, had to wear a brace and, at times, was hospitalised. He was now able to take a few breaks leaving Peter in charge. In July 1975, Peter was able to purchase the business from Gerry who continued his involvement with the world of prize poultry and also acting as a relief pharmacist for Peter when needed.

When Gerry was in his eighties, he had open-heart surgery and had a triple by-pass and valve replacement. Formerly extremely active he became depressed. At the same time, Pat’s health was declining, and she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Her treatment was radiation and chemotherapy which she found difficult to tolerate. Eventually they were both admitted to Stella Maris Nursing home at South Cronulla run at that time by the Sisters of Mercy, many of whom they knew very well.

After forty years as a pharmacist and after consultation with his parents, in 2003 Peter Coady decided to sell the business his father had started in 1946. The new owner was Jennifer Nelson who had worked at Coady’s and always expressed an interest in buying it if it became available. She kept the name and is still operating Coady’s Pharmacy.

For a time Gerry and Pat settled down at Stella Maris but Pat’s lymphoma became worse and on 12th April 2004 she died aged 85. Gerry became very reclusive and on 25th October 2006 after lapsing into a coma he died aged 92. They were survived by their children Peter, Paula, Matthew, Bernard and Margaret.

After a long illness with bowel cancer, Peter Joseph Coady passed away on 3rd October 2016. He was survived by his wife Carol and children Melissa, Louise, Paul and Ben along with their ten grandchildren.