Colour card for Hall's Distemper water paint. The paint came as a powder and needed to be mixed with water to 'the consistency of thick cream'. The instructions emphasise that the distemper should be applied thickly and that one coat was then usually sufficient even on new work and equivalent to two coats of oil paint. Distemper had been used for several centuries. It provided a textured matt finish and generally came in soft pastel colours. It was a popular interior finish until after World War II when it was superseded by vinyl and acrylic based paints. Distemper however is not a washable paint. Despite this it is regaining its popularity for some decorating purposes.

The primitive dwellings that served as homes for the early settlers were simply furnished and decorated as a limited range of colours, simplicity in taste and the hardships of the time influenced the decoration of early Australian houses.

Improvements in paint technology and the chemical industry added new colours to the range available in Australia during the 1830's and 1840's coinciding with the demise and simplicity of Georgian and Regency colour schemes and the beginning of the complex decorative tastes of the Victorian period. Advances in paint technology continued to have an impact throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, and there was a return to the simpler style in the post Edwardian and later periods. The growing interest in restoration has led to a revival of some of the earlier styles and types of paints.

State Library of South Australia: Mortlock Wing. From the ground up August 2004-