Derby Salts rheumatism pain relief resulted from a prescription written by a doctor in England in the early 1900s for a member of the Grace family, founders of a major Australian retail empire called Grace Brothers in around 1906.

^{Original Derby Salts rheumatism
pain relief label}

This remedy was so effective that after returning from a visit to the UK, individual batches were compounded by the pharmacists working in the Grace Brothers Broadway store to supply members of the Grace family and their friends. The formula by now had been named Derby Rheumatic Salts, possibly after the area in England in which the doctor practised. It was becoming increasingly popular as word spread of its usefulness in relieving the pain of arthritis and rheumatism. Its popularity became such that it soon became a stock item in each of the Grace Bros stores, and production batches were then manufactured by the then well-known pharmaceutical manufacturers F H Faulding, based in Adelaide, South Australia. In the 1970s the product name reverted to Derby Salts.

The pharmacist at the Grace Brothers Broadway Store had for some years been involved in the production of Grace Brothers Derby Salts, but by the late 1980s the entire pharmaceutical industry was grappling with compliance issues relating to new national pharmaceutical regulations. As compliance with the new legislation required professional pharmaceutical knowledge the Grace Brothers directors decided to sell the rights to the product to their pharmacist rather than adapt to the new system.

This new proprietor quickly adapted the labelling to the new requirements and determined to continue producing and distributing this much appreciated product to the army of long-term consumers throughout Australia.

The sale of Derby Salts continued in the G.B. retail stores until they were merged into the operations of a rival retail chain the Myer Group and stores were renamed Myer in the 1990s. After the merger the in-store pharmacies ceased to operate. It was a great shame that over 50 years of written testimonials were unceremoniously destroyed during the renovation and rebuilding of the Grace Brothers Broadway complex.

Derby Salts rheumatism pain relief is registered in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods and is manufactured in accordance with the Australian Code of Good Manufacturing Practice.