Mary Perkins running PR. She has admitted donning disguises and visiting Specsavers stores, posing as a customer. Perkins was made an honorary fellow of Cardiff University in 2005. The same year she received the "Rotary International Community and Vocational Service Award" for her services to charity and in 2006 won the inaugural Spirit of everywoman Award. Perkins was the first female optician in the UK to receive the title of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2007. The accolade was also in recognition of her other charitable work, including the Guernsey annual "Specsavers Liberation Tea Dance for
138 Mary Street, Brisbane and by the 1880s occupied a large portion of land between Mary and Margaret Streets. The Perkins complex, particularly the six-storeyed brewing tower, dominated this part of the city. The need for increased space prompted the purchase of 138 Mary Street in 1899. By 1902 Perkins & Co had erected a building on the site which they used as a Wine & Spirit store. This building was probably to a design of Richard Gailey as he had worked on other buildings for the Perkins company. In 1928, Perkins merged with another prominent Brisbane brewing firm to form Castlemaine Perkins Ltd