ABSTRACT
Poppies (Papaver somniferum L.) were grown in Australia on a very small scale throughout the 19th century by some medical practitioners for the production of opium to be used in their individual practices. This was in the form of tinctures of opium (laudanum), a common item of medical practice in this period (Beeching, 1975). More comprehensive plans to establish a poppy industry based on opium production were considered in the state of New South Wales (Turner, 1891), however planned production was never brought to fruition at that time.
