A secretly developed pill made from an Indigenous medicine helped soldiers avoid seasickness as they landed on the shores of Normandy in 1944.

The remedy, made with Corkwood, an Indigenous medicine from northern Queensland, was administered to the Allied troops as they crossed the English Channel, ahead of D-Day operations during WWII.

When Jacqueline Healy, the director of museums at Melbourne University's faculty of medicine, dentistry and health sciences, found one of these rare pills online, she bought it for the Medical History Museum's collection.

The "mystery pill", as it was known to the soldiers, is now on display at the recently reopened museum as part of a collection of medical instruments, photographs, scientific equipment and pharmaceuticals showcasing more than 400 years o

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