How prices at the Royal Adelaide Show in Australia have changed
At the Royal Adelaide Show in Adelaide, Australia, the cost of rides and show bags — packages containing goods and product samples — has risen significantly over the decades. The most affordable Bertie Beetle show bag costs $5, while the most expensive ones reach $55, ABC News Australia reports.
From shillings to dollars
The Royal Adelaide Show has been held since 1840. According to Jade Hastings, archivist at the Royal Adelaide and Horticultural Society, in the early 1850s admission cost one shilling for an adult and sixpence for a child.
In the 1920s, a sample bag could be bought for about threepence, while more expensive options cost around sixpence. Archival materials from the 1960s record that a ride on the Mexican Hat Ride cost 20 cents, while an adult admission ticket probably cost 60 cents. At that time, a loaf of bread cost 18 pence.
By the mid-1980s, a ride on the Ferris wheel had risen to $2. During that period, a loaf of bread cost 54 cents.
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Entertainment and the history of show bags
Hastings explained that rising chocolate prices also affect the cost of show bags that include it. At the same time, individual product samples can still be obtained for free at the event. The admission ticket price also includes main arena events, woodchopping competitions and animal displays.
The first Royal Adelaide Shows focused on agricultural products and livestock. According to archival evidence, children viewed, among other things, exhibits of agricultural machinery. As the number of people wishing to attend the public event grew, organisers added a second day and later a fair day.
Modern show bags originated from early sample packages. Visitors were offered, among other things, a free bag of coal to familiarise them with the product. Later, companies began distributing samples of medicines, hair products, perfumes, cornstarch and baby powder, adding paper crowns and yo-yos to attract buyers.
