Australia: Land of Creative Invention!
Posted: Monday, July 16, 2007
by Ben Jones
Too-Write!
Amazingly, with a short history spanning just 200 years and with a very small population, Australia has still managed to invent a disproportionate number of the worlds most well known mechanisms, household items and medical cures.
Often considered one of the most laid back countries, and perhaps deservedly so (what with all the drinking they like to do), Australia still has a very strong grounding in science and education and a keen focus on research and development. These important ingredients have made Australia a hotbed of invention. Here are just a few of the better known Australian inventions:
The "Ute" - A vehicle with the cabin of a car and the rear of a small truck was designed by Lewis Brandt at the Ford Motor Company in Geelong , Victoria.1934 and called a 'Utility Vehicle'. The 'ute' has long been a favourite vehicle for farmers and tradesmen and is part of the Australian landscape.
Black Box Flight Recorder - this famous device was invented in 1958 by Dr David Warren at the Aeronautical Research Laboratories in Melbourne .
Variable Ratio Rack & Pinion Steering - invented by the engineer Arthur Bishop in 1970. This was quickly adopted by vehicle manufacturers throughout the world.
Premix cement trucks –before this Australian invention all cement had to be mixed on-sight and used promptly before it set.
Hills Hoist - the rotary washing line (clothes line in some places) with hoist quickly became and remains a fixture in Australian back yards and was designed by Gilbert Toyne in Geelong in 1912.
The Electric Drill - was patented by Melbourne inventor Arthur James in 1889.
The Two Stroke Lawn Mower - was developed in Australia in 1930.
The Notepad - was created in 1902 by J.A. Birchall of Launceston when he had the idea to glue individual sheets of paper together into a conveniently usable form.
Latex Gloves - developed in Australia in 1945.
Garage roller door - in the form of a rolling overhead metal door was first produced by B & D in 1956 and soon became an icon of Australian suburbia.
Pre-paid Postage - the first system of pre-paid postage was instituted in New South Wales in 1838
Xerox Photocopying - the technology behind xerography was developed at The University of Sydney by Professor O U Vonwiller in 1907.
Polymer Bank Notes - the Australian-invented technology used in producing polymer bank notes is now licensed in many countries throughout the world. In addition, Australia currently produces bank notes for export to 18 countries.
Blast Glass - also known as Stop Shot. A ballistic and blast resistant glass system which, unlike conventional bulletproof glass, incorporates an air cavity to help absorb the shock wave of explosions was invented by Peter Stephinson.
Refrigeration - the first mechanical refrigeration plant was built by James Harrison in the 1850s.
Wine Cask - the flexible bag inside a box was first developed by Thomas Angove of South Australia in 1965 (well Australian’s do like to drink)
Electronic Pacemaker - the heart pacemaker was developed at Sydney 's Crown Street Women's Hospital in 1926.
Penicillin - was developed by Howard Florey of Adelaide Australia .
Feature Films – the worlds first feature films were “Soldiers of the Cross" and “Story of the Kelly Gang" both made and shown in Australia in 1900 and 1906 respectively.
Aspro – was developed in Australia by George Nicholas in 1917.
The Bionic or Chochlear Ear implant – was invented by a team lead by Professor Graeme Clark in 1978.
Portable beer cooler – or as it’s known in Australia , the “Esky" was invented in Australia in the 1950’s and has become popular around the world. (I told you they like to drink, and the like to do it wherever they are)
Ultrasounds – were invented by Australian scientists at the Commonwealth Health Departments in 1961.
Zinc Cream – the sun-burn retarding mixture was invented in 1940.
The Anthrax vaccine – was discovered by John McGarvie Smith in Australia in 1918
Inflatable aircraft slide - also used as a life raft on many planes were invented by Qantas employee Jack Grant in 1965.
Microsurgery - was pioneered by Professor Earl Owen in Sydney when he re-attached a severed index finger in 1970
The world's first anti-influenza drug - was invented in Australia by the Victorian College of Pharmacy, Monash University , and Biota Holdings.
There are so many interesting inventions and medical discoveries that have come out of Australia and this list is far from complete. Of course this is true of many countries and based on the fun I've had researching this article, I highly recommend that you investigate and research the various inventions that have come out of your own country. You might, like me, be amazed at how creative and clever your fellow countrymen have been over the years.
"Interest is the spur of the people, but glory that of great souls. Invention is the talent of youth, and judgment of age."
~ Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)I found your article very interesting, informative and well presented. One small thing in an otherwise great title, the use of "the" seems awkward and unnecessary.BTW, my mom was born and raised in Queensland, so I can claim half Aussie!Cari, thank you for your comment on my article and your tip regarding the title. I agree completely with your suggestion and have removed the superfluous "the" to strengthen the title. So that means your mom knows what an "esky" is and is adept at using one! *smile*
There is a good story of Henry Sutton, an "electrician" and music retailer of Ballarat in the 19th century. Reading of Bell's Telephone in an issue of "Scientific American" he said "Why didn't I think of that?", and immediately produced telephones working on a dozen different principles. When Bell visited Australia some years later, he made a point of meeting Sutton. Sutton has also been credited with the "Nipkow disk", the Maltese cross image scanning device later used by John Logie Baird in his pioneering televison equipment. Sutton also proposed a facsimile device using the disk to send pictures over telegraph wires and even envisaged "cable" television using a fast scanning system. He has largely been forgotten because he generally refused to take patents.In 1890 English born Professor Richard Threlfall suggested that Heinrich Hertz' then recent experiments could form the basis of a signalling system, this was about 18 months to 3 years before Lodge, Marconi and others began work on it. Prof. Threlfall taught physics and physical chemistry in Sydney.In the 1950s Australian scientists developed the flame ionisation detector capable of measuring organic compounds in small gas or liquid samples at well below the part per million range. Around the same time or a little later, Walsh of the CSIRO developed the atomic absorption spectrophotometer, capable of doing the same with trace minerals in solution. Both instruments are now standard chemical laboratory equipment.Aspro - That is not quite correct. Aspirin was invented by Bayer in Germany. around 1895. The story is that the patent was siezed by the Australian government in the first world war and handed to Nicholas for development to local production. At the time though Australian patents lasted 17 years, so it had probably expired or was about to in 1917. The Australian Patent Office began in 1902, more than a year after Federation. Before that the patent offices were colonial and were little more than registries without much or any examination.Aside from inventions, a few significant scientific theories have been developed here, notably that of "clonal selection" a major step in immunology. Mostly due to Prof. Gustav Nossal and Prof. Sir Macfarlane Burnett.I may be wrong, but I think the first pulsar was observed by Australian astronomers in the 1960s. If not the first, then one of them.
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