Show bags a highlight of sideshow alley for generations of Australians

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-29/show-bags-sideshow-alley-history-australian-tradition/106405158

Showbags are a uniquely Australian thing!

#Australia #News #Showbags #History #Australiana

From confectionery to boot polish, show bags were originally free sample bags

The "uniquely Australian" tradition of the show bag dates back more than a century, and shows no sign of dying out.

@VWDasher Wow, didn't know they were an Aussie thing. Also, I know I've moved up a generation because I want to say that "they used to be better when I was a kid".

@WhombeX me either! Funny how they haven't spread anywhere else.

I remember when they were paper bags and so cheap, we'd get an armful at the Melbourne Show. Would last ages.

@WhombeX @VWDasher When I was a kid in the 50s they were called "sample bags" and contained small sized samples of a manufacturer's products. Fascinating for kids. The Fauldings bag had tiny bottles of antiseptic, a gauze bandage and tiny tin of plasters. Kept me in supplies for playing dolls hospitals for months! Another bag had miniature tomato sauce, tinned baked beans, spaghetti etc. Sad that today's kids miss out on this.
@anne_twain @WhombeX it really is. It's horrifically expensive now and so damned crappy.

@VWDasher

Fav memory. Took me weeks to get blood sugar back to normal πŸ˜€

@Sheep_Overboard it's such a ripoff nowadays, I feel sorry for kids who are missing out on the charm of it.