James Alexander Pond a noted analytical chemist and specialist in homoeopathic remedies. After immigrating to New Zealand from England, he worked in the Thames goldfields, using his expertise to unmask frauds and to treat the miners. He was known by them as ‘The Doctor.’
Overall, Pond is remembered as one of the foremost scientists in the colony. He was appointed Analyst for Auckland, under the Adulteration Prevention Act 1880, a post he held for some three decades.
At the same time, Pond ran a thriving pharmaceutical business in Auckland City. In 1890, he was elected a fellow of the Chemical Society of London.
Ever inventive, Pond obtained a patent in 1885 for his design of enamel-lined butter boxes, which he manufactured in his own Freemans Bay factory.
James Alexander Pond
Died 1926
IMAGE: Auckland War Memorial Museum Reference: J. A. Pond May 1873 C10, 783
