Perkins Paste

Perkins Paste was an Australian brand of adhesive. Although not designed specifically for children, its quick drying, non-toxic formula made it safe for school use. The glue was sold commonly in small, 60-gramme, fuchsia-coloured, cylindrical plastic tubs with white plastic lids that incorporated the flat, spatula-like applicator. The paste was a thick white liquid, similar to PVA glue but slightly thicker.

Perkins Paste was manufactured by Perkin's Groceries Pty Ltd, 14 George St, Granville, NSW. Production began in 1934 and appears to have ceased during the 1980s. Distribution may have been limited to the state of New South Wales, but it become a cultural icon, akin to Vegemite or the Tim Tam biscuit. Many users of the product recall eating Perkins Paste during their primary school years. [See, for example, http://blogs.news.com.au/couriermail/watercooler/index.php/couriermail/comments/whatever_happened_to/P60/, http://www.remo.com.au/pages/item.cfm?plu=1081.]

A track called [http://www.mp3.com.au/Track.asp?id=2075 'Perkins Paste'] has been recorded by the band Bleeding Jelly Eyes.

On 11 March 1993, Perkins Paste was mentioned in the NSW Legislative of Assembly during debate on the 'State Environmental Planning Policy No. 3 - Castlereagh Liquid Waste Disposal Depot'. The then Member for Ermington implied that the then Member for Blacktown had rearranged information contained in Water Board memoranda: "out with the scissors, out with the Perkins Paste, and out with the truth". [ [http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LA19930311011 Castlereagh Liquid Waste Disposal Depot Bill - 11/03/1993 - 2R - NSW Parliament ] ]

In 2003, Perkin's Paste was mentioned in a newspaper report concerning the youth creative arts festival 'Noise' in Melbourne. The digital revolution was likened to Perkins Paste as a form of creativity (of DIY, cutting and pasting) available to everyone. [ [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/03/17/1047749695742.html Say it loud - theage.com.au ] ]

Travel writer Susan Kurosawa recalled, in a 2007 newspaper article, her mother's use of Perkins Paste:

I have a photograph of the young Susan, on board the old Arcadia in the late 1950s, en route from Southampton to Sydney, at an equator-crossing ceremony. I appear to be wearing a hula skirt and a discouragingly small bra made from two segments of a cut-up egg carton. Around my neck is a chain of coloured bath cubes. My hair is a mermaid's tangle of toilet-roll twists and I am holding an upside-down broom as a makeshift trident. I have a vague memory of the terror I felt when my mother set off to make this costume at an on-board creative arts class. What that woman couldn't do with a few rolls of crepe paper, a couple of decommissioned coat-hangers and a pot of Perkins Paste isn't even worth considering. [ [http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,21232809-5002031,00.html Royal appointment | The Australian ] ]

A t-shirt showing the Perkins Paste label is available from [http://www.remo.com.au/pages/item.cfm?plu=1081 REMO] .

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