The Showbag at the Sydney Royal Easter Show

The Showbag is one of many wonderful inventions come up with in Australia. Since its introduction the Showbag has become imbedded in Australian Culture. It is a part of the Sydney Royal Easter Show and is looked forward to by young and old alike.

Before todays Showbag came the Sample bag. This was first introduced as a means of advertising by retailers. It was simply a means of a free giveaway or sample or two, given in the hope that people trying the product for free would like it so much that they would then go and buy it in the shops.

These Sample bags were very popular with show-goers. Many visitors collected so many that it was difficult to carry them all home!

As production costs increased, Sample Bags became Show bags in the late 1920's and were no longer given away for free. More products were put in the bags and the bags became products in their own right.

In the heritage Pavilion at this years Sydney Royal Easter Show is a display of some of the 450 Showbags the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW has collected over the years. The oldest Showbag dates back to 1929. This is the worlds largest collection of Showbags. (They are always on the lookout for other Showbags to add to their collection,)

http://www.eastershow.com.au/