Elastoplast was the first plaster to incorporate a gauze pad, which made it suitable for dressing wounds. Elastoplast dressings were devised in 1928 by employees at T. J. Smith & Nephew, a firm which was originally founded in 1856 as a small dispensing chemist’s in Hull. The original Elastoplast was an adhesive material, Smith & Nephew alerted doctors to their invention in the British Medical Journal in 1929, and Elastoplast was on display at the 1931 London Medical Exhibition.A small rectangular tin with removable lid. The exterior is red with white and black text: "Elastoplast, FIRST AID DRESSINGS. Gauze pad medicated with Domiphen Bromide BPC (for sterilising) 0.1% The logo S & N in white print is inside a white dotted circle towards the bottom of the lid.tin elastoplast medical first-aid

Beiersdorf was founded in 1882 when Paul C. Beiersdorf registered the first patent to manufacture medical plasters. One form of plaster was elastoplast. The company formed an Australian branch.Advertising sign on tin for Elastoplast first aid. ELASTOPLAST / First Aidelastoplast, advertising signs

Elastoplast is the brand name for a type of bandage with an absorbent centre and sticky edges, also known in Australia as a Band-Aid. The inventor of the Band-Aid was Earle Dickson, a cotton buyer for the American company Johnson & Johnson. Dickson’s wife Josephine often acquired small injuries while doing housework, and Dickson tired of helping her dress wounds. He came up with the idea of sticking pieces of gauze a length of sticky tape so she could self-apply dressings. Johnson & Johnson began producing this type of dressing, branded as ‘Band-Aid’ in 1921. In 1928 Smith & Nephew of the UK began producing similar bandages branded as ‘Elastoplast’. This item is significant for its rarity due to age. It provides potential for interpretation as a part of Wodonga's social history.A red Elastoplast First Aid Dressings tin with hinged lid upon which manufacture information is printed.On lid of tin: "Plastic/Elastoplast/First Aid/Dressings"band-aid, elastoplast, medical history, bandages, medical, medicine