Bertie Beetle turns 60 this year… so why are there no Bertie Beetle bags at this year’s Perth Royal Show?

Australian chocolate favourite Bertie Beetle turns 60 this year, the chocolate initially created in 1963 from leftover bits of Violet Crumble to result in a crispy, crunchy, chocolatey treat that’s been bought by the bagful for decades.

The sad news is the Bertie Beetle showbag will not be available at this year’s Perth Royal Show. I repeat, Bertie Beetle will not be available at this year’s Perth Royal Show.

Manufacturers say that the problem lay with production issues and the company just couldn’t keep up with demand at recent eastern states’ shows. It seems the $2 increase – from three to five dollars – for the basic showbag didn’t deter crowds from clamoring for the good choccy stuff.

Says Brendan Williams of Chicane Showbags, “Despite our best efforts, supply of Bertie Beetle has now been exhausted [after being] rationed through the Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne shows.”

Chief executive of the WA Royal Agricultural Society, Robyn Sermon, shared her grief that Bertie wouldn’t be making it across the Nullabor to this year’s show in Perth, saying it was “very, very sad”.

Bertie Beetle first appeared in the Hoadley’s confectionery bag, along with Polly Waffles and Violet Crumbles, at a 1963 Royal Show in competition to Cadbury’s Freddo Frog.

The choccy was inspired by a 1930s children’s character – that is a very small one, in a comic strip about Will Wattlegum the Koala, pictured above. The confectionery was a result of leftover chocolate and honeycomb shards that didn’t make it into Violet Crumbles.

Bertie Beetle as a standalone confectionery was sold in shops and available at the show from 1963 to 1970, then it became a show staple only, and is now available to purchase online (when stocks are in).

Ah, well, I suppose there’ll be another 300 or so other showbags I can choose from this year to satisfy my goody-bag cravings.

Antonino Tati