💡 Also known as Goon Bag
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Where "Goon Sack" Comes From
The actual bag inside the box: South Australian winemaker Tom Angove patented the bag-in-box design in April 1965, using a flexible plastic bladder inside a cardboard carton so no air gets in as the wine empties — solving a real spoilage problem with the glass flagons that came before it.
The "sack" itself is what gave rise to the party ritual: emptied, rinsed, and inflated, it becomes a makeshift pillow, ball, or — most famously — something to spin on a clothesline (a "goon of fortune") for anyone standing underneath to drink from.
Source:
"We played goon of fortune with a goon sack at the party."
How Aussies Actually Use It
Central to the classic party game "goon of fortune," where the sack is pegged to a rotating clothesline, spun, and drunk from wherever it stops — "we played goon of fortune with a goon sack at the party" describes exactly this ritual.
It's associated strongly with student culture and budget-conscious socialising, often affectionately rather than seriously.
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