Education

The fascinating story of how Australia’s first sunscreen was invented in Adelaide

Have you ever wondered what an Australian summer would have been like without the number-one protective measure against it, sunscreen?

Have you ever wondered what an Australian summer would have been like without the number-one protective measure against it, sunscreen? Wonder no more – this is the fascinating story of the first commercially available sunscreen in Australia.

The main character in this story is H. A. Milton or Milton Audley Blake, a University of Adelaide chemistry graduate who became determined to create a cream that aided in sun protection. He was very likely the first in Australia to create commercially available sunscreen, initially at an estimated equivalent of just 2 SPF. This early sunscreen would eventually evolve into the well-known sunscreen brand, Hamilton.

Blake went into business with two friends to manufacture this low-strength sunscreen. It was highly likely they had seen a German trade magazine which outlined the idea of sunscreen and the possibility of using various chemicals to filter out UV.

At the time, Milton was living in a boarding house and the trio managed to use the laundry facilities to cook up the sunscreen prototype. “It was literally a backyard operation,” Australian National University historian, Dr Laura Dawes said. “They were using a little kerosene heater, pots and pans snaffled from the kitchen and would cook up this stuff. They’d then put it into metal tubes to sell it.”

A notable aspect of the original design was its fragrance. The trio perfumed their sunscreen with a French fragrance meaning it existed in the realm between actual sunscreen and a cosmetic. Making it commercially available, the business partners began selling at department store counters and though door-to-door sales. “Very basic and humble beginnings,” Dr Dawes laughed.

Dr Dawes of the Australian National University uncovered this alluring story in a search to discover the beginnings of sun protection and our national understanding of skin cancer in Australia. “Sunscreen is such a big part of our Australian cultural response to skin cancer,” Dr Dawes said. “It’s the major thing we do to try and prevent it.”

Dr Dawes specialises as a historian in the history of medicine. She is particularly interested in public health and populations’ responses to medicine. “My work involves looking at how the general population thinks about health and what they understand to be the causes of illness and disease. I’m really interested in looking at the interaction between science, culture and society.”

“In the past I’ve looked at diseases which seem to have a particular connection with national characteristics,” Dr Dawes said. “For example, I wrote a book on childhood obesity in America. I’m fascinated by that interaction between national stereotypes, and values.”

“It seemed to me that skin cancer is the disease that does that in Australia, and in fact skin cancer has been called ‘Australia’s cancer’ because it is so prevalent in Australia. It has also been called that because it is connected to the Australian way of life – BBQs, beach, sport, and an awful lot of outdoor living.”

“I don’t think people really understood the connection between sun exposure, being burnt and skin cancer particularly well,” Dr Dawes said. “I think people understood sun exposure resulting in sunburn but the connection through to skin cancer just wasn’t as much of a thing until really around the 1940s. This time marked the origins of the Cancer Council’s efforts to educate the public about cancer. Even then I think the recognition of that connection would have been a bit delayed because the Cancer Council tended to talk about cancer as a broad, general issue.”

“At the time scientific opinion was that it was possible to safely tan. Medical advice was that you should gradually expose yourself to the sun. Spend 10, then 15, then 20 minutes in the sun, and work your way up to build the tan which should be protective. Provided you didn’t go too far and burn yourself so badly that you peeled, that would be fine!

So next time you slather on your sunscreen before heading out into the blistering Aussie sun, remember that its humble beginnings trace back to a kerosene heater and a chemist with a vision.

There you have it! The fascinating origins of sunscreen in Australia. Consider this your official reminder to slip, slop, slap, seek, and slide this summer!

More News

To Top