Aussie Innovations & Inventions
Well before Federation in 1901, Australians had demonstrated how innovative they were. Thousands of years ago, Indigenous Australians developed tools like fish traps, boomerangs and woomeras to assist with hunting. They lived in harmony with nature using the native flora and fauna as a source of food and medicine.
When the European settlers arrived in this harsh, isolated land, they also had to be ingenious to survive and thrive. Early inventions included the windmill, the stump-jump plough, the stripper harvester, mechanical shears, ice-making machines and even lamingtons.
100+ years of innovation & inventions timeline…
1838: Pre-paid postage
Colonial Postmaster-General of New South Wales, James Raymond introduced the world's first pre-paid postal system, using pre-stamped sheets as envelopes.
1856: Refrigerator
Using the principle of vapour compression, James Harrison produced the world's first practical ice making machine and refrigerator.
1876: Stump jump plough
Richard and Clarence Bowyer Smith developed a plough which could jump over stumps and stones, enabling newly cleared land to be cultivated.[
1889: Electric drill
Arthur James Arnot patented the world's first electric drill on 20 August 1889 while working for the Union Electric Company in Melbourne. He designed it primarily to drill rock and to dig coal.
1892: Coolgardie safe
Arthur Patrick McCormick noticed that a wet bag placed over a bottle cooled its contents, and the cooling was more pronounced in a breeze. The Coolgardie safe was a box made of wire and hessian sitting in water, which was placed on a verandah so that any breeze would evaporate the water in the hessian and via the principle of evaporation, cool the air inside the box. The Coolgardie safe was used into the middle of the 20th century as a means of preserving food.
1901: Federation Wheat
William Farrer released the Federation wheat strain, resistant to fungal rust disease and drought.
1902: Notepad
For 500 years, paper had been supplied in loose sheets. Launceston stationer J.A. Birchall decided that it would be a good idea to cut the sheets into half, back them with cardboard and glue them together at the top.
1905: Thrust Bearing
Anthony Michell invented the tilt-pad thrust bearing, which reduced friction and increased power transmitted. The technology has been used in ship building around the world and also in pumps and turbines.
1906: Surf Lifesaving Reel
Designed by Lyster Ormsby, the reel was first demonstrated at Bondi Beach.
1906: Feature Film
The Story of the Kelly Gang was the world’s first feature length film.
1909: Improved Sheep Shears
Aboriginal inventor, author and spokesperson, David Unaipon, patented an improved handpiece for sheep shears.
1912: Surf ski
Harry McLaren and his brother Jack used an early version of the surf ski for use around the family's oyster beds on Lake Innes, near Port Macquarie, New South Wales, and the brothers used them in the surf on Port Macquarie's beaches. The board was propelled in a sitting position with two small hand blades, which was probably not a highly efficient method to negotiate the surf.
1912: Rotary Hoe
Cliff Howard, aged 16, with help from his brother Albert built the first full-size rotary hoe cultivator. It uses energy to turn the soil directly, rather than dragging a plough behind a tractor.
1913: Automatic Totalisator
Invented by George Julius, the tote automated betting at horse races.
1915-1917: Aspro
While the German firm Bayer first produced aspirin, a Melbourne pharmacist George Nicholas and experimenter, Henry Woolf Smith produced a high-grade aspirin product, ‘Aspro’, that later took over the international market.
1926: Heart Pacemaker
A doctor from the Crown Street Women’s Hospital in Sydney, who wished to remain anonymous, invented the original pacemaker in Australia.
The all-metal rotary clothes hoist was invented, manufactured and marketed by Gilbert Toyne. His 1926 patent had an enclosed crown wheel-and-pinion winding mechanism (allowing the frame to be raised and lowered), and this became the most common design for Australian rotary clothes hoists for decades to follow.
1928: Royal Flying Doctor Service
Reverend John Flynn was the founder of the world’s first Aerial Medical Service, now known as the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS). In May 1928, Dr St Vincent Welch made the first official RFDS visit.
1928: First Crossing of the Pacific
Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and his crew performed the world’s first air crossing of the Pacific Ocean.
1928: Speedo Swimwear
MacRae introduced the classic, figure-hugging “Racerback” costume, which permitted greater freedom of movement, allowing wearers to swim faster. This inspired staff member Captain Parsons to coin the slogan ‘Speed on in your Speedos’ and the Speedo® name was born
1934: Coupe Utility Vehicle
The car body style, known colloquially as the ute in Australia and New Zealand, combines a two-door "coupé" cabin with an integral cargo bed behind the cabin—using a light-duty passenger vehicle-derived platform. It was designed by Lewis Brandt at the Ford Motor Company in Geelong, Victoria. The first ute rolled off the Ford production lines in 1934. The idea came from a Geelong farmer's wife who wrote to Ford in 1933 advising the need for a new sort of vehicle to take her 'to church on Sundays and pigs to market on Mondays
1945: Hills Hoist
Gilbert Toyne's original rotary clothes hoist design, patented in 1926, was picked up and marketed by Hills Hoists Limited from 1947. By this time Toyne's patent had expired. The Hills company went on to make millions of rotary clothes hoists and became the most familiar model in Australian backyards.
1946: Shepherd Castors
George Shepherd invented strong, easily maneuverable dome-shaped castors for furniture. These replaced traditional pivoted wheel castors.
1952: Victa Lawnmower
The Victa version of the petrol lawnmower with rotary blades was developed by Mervyn Victor Richardson, and became an Aussie icon.
1958: Black Box Flight Recorder
Dr David Warren in Melbourne invented the first black box flight memory recorder. The unit recorded the pilot’s voice and a few instrument readings.
1961: Ultrasound
George Kossoff and David Robinson built the first ultrasound scanner at the ultrasonics institute in the Commonwealth Department of Health.
1965: Inflatable Aircraft Escape Slide
Jack Grant of Qantas invented the inflatable aircraft escape slide which can also be used as a raft on water. These slides are now standard safety equipment on all major airlines.
1965: Wine Cask
Thomas Angove introduced the wine cask.
1974: Super Sopper
Sydney inventor Gordon Withnall invented this device which soaks up water from wet sportsgrounds.
1978: Synroc
Professor Ted Ringwood led a team at the Australian National University to develop synthetic rock to contain high-level nuclear waste with safety.
1979: Bionic Ear
The cochlear implant, designed to help the hearing impaired and profoundly deaf, was invented by Professor Graeme Clark of the University of Melbourne.
1984: Wave Piercing Catamaran
Ship builder Incat Australia Pty Ltd designed a low buoyancy bow which helps the catamaran pierce through waves, resulting in a faster and smoother journey.
1986: Gene Shears
The discovery of gene shears – molecules used to prevent harmful and unwanted genes in plants and animals – was made by CSIRO scientists, Dr Wayne Gerlach and Dr Jim Haseloff.
1988: Plastic Banknotes
CSIRO and Note Printing Australia developed the world’s first polymer banknote made from tough flexible polypropylene plastics. These notes last longer and are more difficult to counterfeit than paper money.
1992: Multi-focal Contact Lens
The world’s first multi-focal contact lenses were invented by optical research scientist, Stephen Newman of QLD.
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