List of Australian inventions
Encyclopedia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
from pre-European settlement in 1788 to the present. The inventions are listed in chronological order based on the date of their introduction.
Australian inventions include the very old, such as the boomerang
Boomerang
A boomerang is a flying tool with a curved shape used as a weapon or for sport.-Description:A boomerang is usually thought of as a wooden device, although historically boomerang-like devices have also been made from bones. Modern boomerangs used for sport are often made from carbon fibre-reinforced...
and the woomera
Woomera (spear-thrower)
A woomera is an Australian Aboriginal spear-throwing device used for when there is a greater distance to be overcome. It is highly efficient and made of wood. Similar to an atlatl, it enables a spear to travel much further than by arm strength alone...
, and the very new, such as the scramjet, first fired at the Woomera
Woomera, South Australia
The town, or village, of Woomera is located in the south east corner of the Woomera Prohibited Area ; colloquially known as the Woomera Rocket Range...
rocket range. The Australian government has suggested that Australian inventiveness springs from the nation's geography and isolation. Perhaps due to its status as an island continent connected to the rest of the world only by air and sea, Australians have been leaders in inventions relating to both maritime and aeronautical matters, including powered flight
Powered flight
Powered flight is flight achieved using onboard power to generate propulsive thrust and/or lift. Birds and insects use wings, in a variety of ways, to achieve powered flight. Man has developed several forms of powered aircraft. The term powered flight is also sometimes used excluding the natural...
, the black box
Black box
A black box is a device, object, or system whose inner workings are unknown; only the input, transfer, and output are known characteristics.The term black box can also refer to:-In science and technology:*Black box theory, a philosophical theory...
flight recorder
Flight recorder
A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of an aircraft accident or incident. For this reason, flight recorders are required to be capable of surviving the conditions likely to be encountered in a severe aircraft...
, the inflatable escape slide, the surf ski, the wave-piercing
Wave-piercing
A wave-piercing boat hull has a very fine bow, with reduced buoyancy in the forward portions.When a wave is encountered, the lack of buoyancy means the hull pierces through the water rather than riding over the top - resulting in a smoother ride than traditional designs, and in diminished stress on...
catamaran
Catamaran
A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...
and the winged keel
Australia II
Australia II is the Australian 12-metre-class challenge racing yacht that was launched in 1982 and won the 1983 America's Cup for the Royal Perth Yacht Club...
. Since the earliest days of European settlement, Australia's main industries have been agriculture and mining, and Australian inventions in these areas have included the grain stripper, the stump jump plough, mechanical sheep shears, the Dethridge water wheel
Dethridge wheel
The Dethridge wheel is used throughout Australia and in many other countries, including the United States, Israel and in Africa, to measure the flow of water delivered to farms for irrigation....
, the froth flotation
Froth flotation
Froth flotation is a process for selectively separating hydrophobic materials from hydrophilic. This is used in several processing industries...
ore separation process, the instream ore analysis process and the buffalo fly trap.
Australian inventions also include a number of weapons or weapons systems, including the boomerang, the woomera, the tank, and the underwater torpedo. In recent years, Australians have been at the forefront of medical technology with inventions including ultrasound
Ultrasound
Ultrasound is cyclic sound pressure with a frequency greater than the upper limit of human hearing. Ultrasound is thus not separated from "normal" sound based on differences in physical properties, only the fact that humans cannot hear it. Although this limit varies from person to person, it is...
, the bionic ear, the first plastic spectacle lenses
Corrective lens
A corrective lens is a lens worn in front of the eye, mainly used to treat myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, and presbyopia. Glasses or "spectacles" are worn on the face a short distance in front of the eye. Contact lenses are worn directly on the surface of the eye...
, the electronic pacemaker
Pacemaker
An artificial pacemaker is a medical device that uses electrical impulses to regulate the beating of the heart.Pacemaker may also refer to:-Medicine:...
, the multi-focal contact lens, spray-on artificial skin and anti-flu medication. Australians also developed a number of useful household items, including Vegemite
Vegemite
Vegemite is a dark brown Australian food paste made from yeast extract. It is a spread for sandwiches, toast, crumpets and cracker biscuits, and filling for pastries...
, the notepad, and the process for producing permanently creased fabric.
Many of Australia's inventions were realised by individuals who get little credit or who are often overlooked for more famous Americans or Europeans. For example, man's first powered flight was not accomplished by the Wright Brothers
Wright brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
. Instead, it was accomplished in 1894 by Australian Lawrence Hargrave
Lawrence Hargrave
Lawrence Hargrave was an engineer, explorer, astronomer, inventor and aeronautical pioneer.- Early life :Hargrave was born in Greenwich, England, the second son of John Fletcher Hargrave and was educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmorland...
, using four box kite
Box kite
A box kite is a high-performance kite, noted for developing relatively high lift; it is a type within the family of cellular kites. The typical design has four parallel struts. The box is made rigid with diagonal crossed struts. There are two sails, or ribbons, whose width is about a quarter of the...
s. The Sydney Morning Herald in 2005 noted that Hargrave "was interested in the invention, not the money to be made."'
Australian Aborigine David Unaipon
David Unaipon
David Unaipon was an Australian Aboriginal of the Ngarrindjeri people, a preacher, inventor and writer. He was the most widely known Aboriginal in Australia, and broke stereotypes of Aboriginals...
is known as "Australia's Leonardo" for his contributions to science and the Aboriginal people. His inventions include a tool for sheep-shearing, a centrifugal motor, a multi-radial wheel and mechanical propulsion device. Unaipon appears on Australia's $50 note.
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation is the national government body for scientific research in Australia...
(CSIRO) is an Australian government funded institution with a proud record of discovery and innovation. A number of CSIRO funded scientists and engineers are featured in this list. CSIRO scientists lead Australian research across a number of different fields, and work with industry and government to solve problems such as using insects to tackle weeds, growing more sustainable crops and improving transportation.
Australia's contributions to science have been recognised in the 14 Australian Nobel laureates – the highest rate per population of any country.
Aboriginal technology – before 1788
- The original inventors of these uniquely Australian inventions are unknown.
Boomerang
Boomerang
A boomerang is a flying tool with a curved shape used as a weapon or for sport.-Description:A boomerang is usually thought of as a wooden device, although historically boomerang-like devices have also been made from bones. Modern boomerangs used for sport are often made from carbon fibre-reinforced...
– The boomerang was invented by Australian aborigines and served multiple purposes. Its complex aerodynamics generates lift when the boomerang is thrown through the air. Some types of boomerang can even return to the thrower.
Didgeridoo
Didgeridoo
The didgeridoo is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia around 1,500 years ago and still in widespread usage today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe"...
– The didgeridoo is a wind instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
of the Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
of northern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is sometimes described as a "drone
Drone (music)
In music, a drone is a harmonic or monophonic effect or accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout most or all of a piece. The word drone is also used to refer to any part of a musical instrument that is just used to produce such an effect.-A musical effect:A drone...
pipe," but musicologists classify it as an aerophone
Aerophone
An aerophone is any musical instrument which produces sound primarily by causing a body of air to vibrate, without the use of strings or membranes, and without the vibration of the instrument itself adding considerably to the sound...
. Traditionally, the didgeridoo was made by selecting a section of Eucalyptus branch, which was then buried near a termite mound to produce a long, hollow piece of wood suitable for fashioning the instrument.
Woomera
Woomera (spear-thrower)
A woomera is an Australian Aboriginal spear-throwing device used for when there is a greater distance to be overcome. It is highly efficient and made of wood. Similar to an atlatl, it enables a spear to travel much further than by arm strength alone...
– The woomera is a type of spear thrower, adding thrust to a spear as part of a throwing action, and is said to have been the fastest weapon in the world until the invention of the self-loading rifle in the 19th century.
Colonial era – 19th century
1838 – Pre-paid postage – Colonial Postmaster-General of New South WalesNew South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, James Raymond introduced the world's first pre-paid postal system, using pre-stamped sheets as envelopes.
1843 – Grain stripper – John Ridley and John Bull of South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
developed the world's first grain stripper that cut the crop then removed and placed the grain into bins.
1856 – Refrigerator
Refrigerator
A refrigerator is a common household appliance that consists of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump that transfers heat from the inside of the fridge to its external environment so that the inside of the fridge is cooled to a temperature below the ambient temperature of the room...
– Using the principle of vapour compression, James Harrison produced the world's first practical ice making machine and refrigerator.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
– Aussie rules, which comprises rules and elements from Rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
and Gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
as well as Sheffield rules
Sheffield Rules
The Sheffield Rules were a code of football devised and played in the English city of Sheffield between 1857 and 1877. They were devised by Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest for use by the newly founded Sheffield Football Club. The rules were subsequently adopted as the official rules of...
, Cambridge rules and the indigenous sport of Marn Grook
Marn Grook
Marn Grook , literally meaning "Game ball", is a collective name given to a number of traditional Indigenous Australian recreational pastimes believed to have been played at gatherings and celebrations of up to 50 players. It is often confused with a separate indigenous game resembling Association...
, began its development when Tom Wills
Tom Wills
Thomas Wentworth "Tom" Wills was an Australian all-round sportsman, umpire, coach and administrator who is credited with being a catalyst towards the invention of Australian rules football....
wrote a letter published in Bell's Life in Victoria & Sporting Chronicle on 10 July 1858, calling for a "foot-ball club, a rifle club, or other athletic pursuits" to keep cricketers fit during winter. An experimental match was played by Wills and others at the Richmond Paddock, later known as Yarra Park
Yarra Park, Melbourne
Yarra Park is part of the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct - the premier sporting precinct of Victoria, Australia. Located in Yarra Park is the Melbourne Cricket Ground and numerous sporting fields and ovals, including the associated sporting complexes of Melbourne & Olympic Parks...
next to the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
on 31 July 1858.
The Melbourne Football Club
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
rules of 1859 are the oldest surviving set of laws for Australian football. They were drawn up at the Parade Hotel, East Melbourne, on 17 May, by Wills, W. J. Hammersley, J. B. Thompson and Thomas Smith.
The Melbourne club’s game was not immediately adopted by neighbouring clubs. Before each match the rules had to be agreed by the two teams involved. By 1866, several other clubs had agreed to play by an updated version of Melbourne's rules.
1874 – Underwater torpedo
Brennan Torpedo
The Brennan torpedo was a torpedo patented by Irish born Australian inventor Louis Brennan in 1877. It was powered by two contra-rotating propellors that were spun by rapidly pulling out wires from drums wound inside the torpedo...
– Invented by Louis Brennan, the torpedo had two propellers, rotated by wires which were attached to winding engines on the shore station. By varying the speed at which the two wires were extracted, the torpedo could be steered to the left or right by an operator on the shore.
1877 – Mechanical clippers – Various mechanical shearing patents were registered in Australia before Frederick York Wolseley
Frederick Wolseley
Frederick York Wolseley was the founder of Wolseley, one of the United Kingdom's largest builders' merchant businesses.-Career:...
finally succeeded in developing a practical hand piece with a comb and reciprocating cutter driven by power transmitted from a stationary engine.
1889 – Electric drill – Arthur James Arnot
Arthur James Arnot
Arthur James Arnot was an electrical engineer and inventor, best known for patenting the world's first electric drill. He later designed the Spencer Street Power Station, Victoria.-Biography:...
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.
Coolgardie safe
The Coolgardie Safe is a low-tech refrigeration unit which uses the heat transfer which occurs during evaporation of water. It was named after the place where it was invented — the small mining town of Coolgardie, Western Australia, near Kalgoorlie-Boulder....
– 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.
Powered flight
Powered flight is flight achieved using onboard power to generate propulsive thrust and/or lift. Birds and insects use wings, in a variety of ways, to achieve powered flight. Man has developed several forms of powered aircraft. The term powered flight is also sometimes used excluding the natural...
– Lawrence Hargrave
Lawrence Hargrave
Lawrence Hargrave was an engineer, explorer, astronomer, inventor and aeronautical pioneer.- Early life :Hargrave was born in Greenwich, England, the second son of John Fletcher Hargrave and was educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmorland...
discovered that curved surfaces lift more than flat ones. He subsequently built the world's first box kite
Box kite
A box kite is a high-performance kite, noted for developing relatively high lift; it is a type within the family of cellular kites. The typical design has four parallel struts. The box is made rigid with diagonal crossed struts. There are two sails, or ribbons, whose width is about a quarter of the...
s, hitched four together, added an engine and flew five metres. Hargrave corresponded freely with other aviation pioneers, including the Wright Brothers
Wright brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
. Unlike the Americans who commercialised their ideas, Hargrave never patented his. Because it promised public access, Hargrave left all his research and prototypes to the Munich Museum.
20th Century Post-Federation – 1901–1945
1902 – NotepadNotebook
A notebook is a book or binder composed of pages of notes, often ruled, made out of paper, used for purposes including recording notes or memoranda, writing, drawing, and scrapbooking....
– For 500 years, paper had been supplied in loose sheets. Launceston
Launceston, Tasmania
Launceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...
stationer J.A. Birchall decided that it would be a good idea to cut the sheets in half, back them with cardboard and glue them together at the top.
1903 – Froth flotation
Froth flotation
Froth flotation is a process for selectively separating hydrophobic materials from hydrophilic. This is used in several processing industries...
– The process of separating minerals from rock by flotation was developed by Charles Potter and Guillaume Delprat in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. Both worked independently at the same time on different parts of the process for the mining company Broken Hill Pty. Ltd.
BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton is a global mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom...
(BHP)
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
– The world's first feature length film, The Story of the Kelly Gang
The Story of the Kelly Gang
The Story of the Kelly Gang is a 1906 Australian film that traces the life of the legendary bushranger Ned Kelly . It was written and directed by Charles Tait. The film ran for more than an hour, and was the longest narrative film yet seen in Australia, and the world. Its approximate reel length...
, was a little over an hour long.
1906 – Surf life-saving reel – The first surf life-saving reel in the world was demonstrated at Bondi Beach on 23 December 1906 by its designer, Bondi
Bondi
Bondi could refer to:-Places in Australia:* Bondi Beach, New South Wales, a beach and suburb in Sydney, Australia* Bondi Junction, New South Wales, a suburb and commercial centre in Sydney, Australia* Bondi, New South Wales, a suburb in Sydney, Australia...
surfer Lester Ormsby.
Thrust bearing
A thrust bearing is a particular type of rotary bearing. Like other bearings they permit rotation between parts, but they are designed to support a high axial load while doing this.Thrust bearings come in several varieties....
– Fluid-film thrust bearings were invented by Australian engineer George Michell
Anthony Michell
Anthony George Maldon Michell FRS was an Australian mechanical engineer of the early 20th century.-Early life:...
. Michell bearings contain a number of sector-shaped pads, arranged in a circle around the shaft, and which are free to pivot. These create wedge-shaped regions of oil inside the bearing between the pads and a rotating disk, which support the applied thrust and eliminate metal-on-metal contact. The small size (one-tenth the size of old bearing designs), low friction and long life of Michell's invention made possible the development of larger propellers and engines in ships. They were used extensively in ships built during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and have become the standard bearing used on turbine shafts in ships and power plants worldwide.
1910 – Humespun pipe-making process – The Humespun process was developed by Walter Hume of Humes Ltd for making concrete pipes of high strength and low permeability. The process used centrifugal force to evenly distribute concrete onto wire reinforcing, revolutionising pipe manufacture.
Dethridge wheel
The Dethridge wheel is used throughout Australia and in many other countries, including the United States, Israel and in Africa, to measure the flow of water delivered to farms for irrigation....
– The wheel used to measure the water flow in an irrigation channel, consisting of a drum on an axle, with eight v-shaped vanes fixed to its outside, was invented by John Dethridge, Commissioner of the Victorian State Rivers and Water Supply Commission.
Port Macquarie, New South Wales
Port Macquarie is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, located about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The city is located on the coast, at the mouth of the Hastings River, and has an estimated population of 44,313....
, 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. The deck is flat with a bung plug at the rear and a nose ring with a leash, possibly originally required for mooring. The rails are square and there is pronounced rocker. The boards' obvious buoyancy indicates hollow construction, with thin boards of cedar fixed longtitudinally down the board.
1912 – Tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
– A South Australian named Lance de Mole submitted a proposal to the British War Office, for a 'chain-rail vehicle which could be easily steered and carry heavy loads over rough ground and trenches' complete with extensive drawings. The British war office rejected the idea at the time, but De Mole made several more proposals to the British War Office in 1914 and 1916, and formally requested he be recognised as the inventor of the Mark I tank
Mark I tank
The British Mark I was a tracked vehicle developed by the British Army during the First World War and the world's first combat tank. The Mark I entered service in August 1916, and was first used in action on the morning of 15 September 1916 during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, of the Somme...
. The British Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors eventually made a payment of £987 to De Mole to cover his expenses and promoting him to an honorary corporal.
1912 – Self-Propelled Rotary Hoe – At the age of 16 Cliff Howard of Gilgandra invented a machine with rotating hoe blades on an axle that simultaneously hoed the ground and pulled the machine forward.
1913 – Automatic totalisator -The world's first automatic totalisator for calculating horse-racing bets was made by Sir George Julius.
1926 – Rotary clothes hoist –The all-metal rotary clothes hoist was patented by Gilbert Toyne
Gilbert Toyne
Gilbert Toyne Australian inventor.Gilbert Toyne was born at Darriwill, Victoria, Australia and trained as a blacksmith, wheelwright and farrier. He went on to invent, patent and market four rotary clothes hoist designs in Australia...
. This model had an enclosed crown wheel-and-pinion winding mechanism that defined the standard for Australian rotary clothes hoists for decades to follow.
1928 – Electronic Pacemaker
Pacemaker
An artificial pacemaker is a medical device that uses electrical impulses to regulate the beating of the heart.Pacemaker may also refer to:-Medicine:...
– The heart pacemaker had a portable apparatus which 'plugged into a lighting point. One pole was applied to a skin pad soaked in strong salt solution' while the other pole 'consisted of a needle insulated except at its point, and was plunged into the appropriate cardiac chamber'. 'The pacemaker rate was variable from about 80 to 120 pulses per minute, and likewise the voltage variable from 1.5 to 120 volts.' The apparatus was used to revive a potentially stillborn infant at Crown Street Women's Hospital, Sydney whose heart continued 'to beat on its own accord', 'at the end of 10 minutes' of stimulation.
Clapperboard
A clapperboard is a device used in filmmaking and video production to assist in the synchronizing of picture and sound, and to designate and mark particular scenes and takes recorded during a production...
– The wooden marker used to synchronise sound and film was invented by Frank Thring Sr of Efftee Studios in Melbourne.
1934 – Coupé utility
Coupé utility
The coupé utility automobile body style, also 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....
– 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
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
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.'
1938 – Polocrosse
Polocrosse
Polocrosse it is a team sport that is played all over the world. It is a combination of polo and lacrosse. It is played outside, on a field , on horseback. Each rider uses a cane stick to which is attached a racquet head with a loose, thread net, in which the ball is carried. The ball is made of...
– Inspired by a training exercise witnessed at the National School of Equitation at Kingston Vale near London, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Hirst of Sydney invented the combination polo and lacrosse sport which was first played at Ingleburn near Sydney in 1939.
1940 – Zinc Cream
Sunscreen
Sunblock is a lotion, spray, gel or other topical product that absorbs or reflects some of the sun's ultraviolet radiation on the skin exposed to sunlight and thus helps protect against sunburn...
– This white sun block made from zinc oxide was developed by the Fauldings pharmaceutical company.
20th century Post-World War II
1948 – Hills HoistHills Hoist
A Hills Hoist is a height-adjustable rotary clothes line, manufactured in Adelaide, South Australia by Lance Hill since 1945. The Hills Hoist and similar rotary clothes hoists remain a common fixture in many backyards in Australia and New Zealand...
– The famous Hills Hoist rotary clothes line with a winding mechanism allowing the frame to be lowered and raised with ease was developed by Lance Hill in 1945, although the clothes line design itself was originally patented by Gilbert Toyne in Adelaide in 1926.
1952 – Lagerphone – The lagerphone is a musical instrument made by nailing beer caps onto a stick. The first recorded witnessing of this instrument was at an amateur's night near Holbrook, New South Wales
Holbrook, New South Wales
Holbrook is a small town in Southern New South Wales, Australia. It is on the Hume Highway, 356 km North-East of Melbourne and 491 km south-west of Sydney between Tarcutta and Albury. The town is in the Greater Hume Shire Council area which was established in May 2004 from the merger of...
. During the 50s it was popularised by the Heathcote Bushwackers as an alternative to the American wobbleboard.
Atomic absorption spectroscopy
Atomic absorption spectroscopy is a spectroanalytical procedure for the qualitative and quantitative determination of chemical elements employing the absorption of optical radiation by free atoms in the gaseous state. In analytical chemistry the technique is used for determining the concentration...
– The atomic absorption spectrophotometer is a complex analytical instrument incorporating micro-computer electronics and precision optics and mechanics, used in chemical analysis to determine low concentrations of metals in a wide variety of substances. It was first developed by Sir Alan Walsh of the CSIRO.
1953 – Solar hot water
Solar hot water
Solar water heating or solar hot water systems comprise several innovations and many mature renewable energy technologies that have been well established for many years...
– Developed by a team at the CSIRO led by Roger N Morse
1955 – Distance Measuring Equipment (DME)
Distance Measuring Equipment
Distance measuring equipment is a transponder-based radio navigation technology that measures distance by timing the propagation delay of VHF or UHF radio signals....
– Invented and developed by Edward George Bowen
Edward George Bowen
Edward George 'Taffy' Bowen, CBE, FRS was a British physicist who made a major contribution to the development of radar, and so helped win both the Battle of Britain and the Battle of the Atlantic...
of the CSIRO, the first DME network, operating in the 200 MHz band, became operational in Australia.
1956 – Pneumatic broadacre air seeder – Invented and patented by Albert Fuss in 1956, the lightweight air seeder uses a spinning distributor, blew the seeds through a pipe into the plating tynes. It was first used that same year to sow wheat near Dalby
Dalby
Dalby is a Scandinavian place name meaning "valley settlement", during the Viking Age, the name was brought to England and it later also became an English surname...
in Queensland.
1957 – Flame ionisation detector – The flame ionisation detector is one of the most accurate instruments ever developed for the detection of emissions. It was invented by Ian McWilliam. The instrument, which can measure one part in 10 million, has been used in chemical analysis in the petrochemical industry, medical and biochemical research, and in the monitoring of the environment.
1957 – Wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
clothing with a permanent crease – The process for producing permanently creased fabric was invented by Dr Arthur Farnworth of the CSIRO.
Black box
A black box is a device, object, or system whose inner workings are unknown; only the input, transfer, and output are known characteristics.The term black box can also refer to:-In science and technology:*Black box theory, a philosophical theory...
flight recorder
Flight recorder
A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of an aircraft accident or incident. For this reason, flight recorders are required to be capable of surviving the conditions likely to be encountered in a severe aircraft...
– The 'black box' voice and instrument data recorder was invented by Dr David Warren in Melbourne.
1960 – Plastic spectacle lenses
Corrective lens
A corrective lens is a lens worn in front of the eye, mainly used to treat myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, and presbyopia. Glasses or "spectacles" are worn on the face a short distance in front of the eye. Contact lenses are worn directly on the surface of the eye...
– The world's first plastic spectacle lenses, 60 per cent lighter than glass lenses, were designed by Scientific Optical Laboratories in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
.
1961 – Ultrasound
Ultrasound
Ultrasound is cyclic sound pressure with a frequency greater than the upper limit of human hearing. Ultrasound is thus not separated from "normal" sound based on differences in physical properties, only the fact that humans cannot hear it. Although this limit varies from person to person, it is...
– David Robinson and George Kossoff's work at the Australian Department of Health, resulted in the first commercially practical water path ultrasonic scanner in 1961.
1965 – Inflatable escape slide – The inflatable aircraft escape slide which doubles as a raft was invented by Jack Grant of Qantas
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
.
Wine cask
Wine cask may refer to:* A wine barrel* Especially in Australia, an alternate term for a Bag-In-Box storage for wine, used for box wine....
– Invented by Thomas Angove of Renmark, South Australia, the wine cask is a cardboard box housing a plastic container which collapses as the wine is drawn off, thus preventing contact with the air. Angroves' original design with a resealable spout was replaced with a tap by the Penfolds
Penfolds
Penfolds is an Australian wine producer, founded in 1844 by Christopher Rawson Penfold, an English physician who emigrated to Australia, and his wife, Mary Penfold...
wine company in 1972
1970 – Staysharp knife – The self-sharpening knife was developed by Wiltshire.
1971 – Variable rack and pinion
Rack and pinion
A rack and pinion is a type of linear actuator that comprises a pair of gears which convert rotational motion into linear motion. A circular gear called "the pinion" engages teeth on a linear "gear" bar called "the rack"; rotational motion applied to the pinion causes the rack to move, thereby...
steering – The variable ratio rack and pinion steering in motor vehicles allowing smooth steering with minimal feedback was invented by Australian engineer, Arthur Bishop.
1972 – Orbital engine
Orbital engine
The Sarich orbital engine is a type of internal combustion engine, featuring rotary rather than reciprocating motion of its internal parts. It differs from the conceptually similar Wankel engine by using a shaped rotor that rolls around the interior of the engine, rather than having a trilobular...
– The orbital internal combustion process engine was invented by engineer Ralph Sarich of Perth, Western Australia. The system uses a single piston to directly inject fuel into 5 orbiting chambers. It has never challenged the dominance of four-stroke combustion engines but has replaced many two-stroke engines with a more efficient, powerful and cleaner system. Orbital engines now appear in boats, motorcycles and small cars.
1972 – Instream analysis – To speed-up analysis of metals during the recovery process, which used to take up to 24 hours, Amdel Limited developed an on-the-spot analysis equipment called the In-Stream Analysis System, for the processing of copper, zinc, lead and platinum – and the washing of coal. This computerised system allowed continuous analysis of key metals and meant greater productivity for the mineral industry worldwide.
1974 – Super Sopper – Gordon Withnall at the age of 56 invented the Super Sopper, a giant rolling sponge used to quickly soak up water from sporting grounds so that play can continue.
1978 – Synroc
Synroc
Synroc, a portmanteau of "synthetic rock", is a means of safely storing radioactive waste. It was pioneered in 1978 by a team led by Dr Ted Ringwood at the Australian National University, with further research undertaken in collaboration with ANSTO at research laboratories in Lucas...
– The synthetic ceramic
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
Synroc that incorporates radioactive waste into its crystal structure was invented in 1978 by a team led by Dr Ted Ringwood at the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
.
Fairlight CMI
The Fairlight CMI is a digital sampling synthesizer. It was designed in 1979 by the founders of Fairlight, Peter Vogel and Kim Ryrie, and based on a dual-6800 microprocessor computer designed by Tony Furse in Sydney, Australia...
– The Fairlight CMI (Computer Musical Instrument) was the first polyphonic digital sampling synthesizer. It was designed in 1979 by the founders of Fairlight
Fairlight
Fairlight is a digital audio company based in Sydney, Australia. In 1979 they created the Fairlight CMI, the first digital audio sampler, quickly used by artists such as Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, and Jean Michel Jarre. They are now a manufacturer of media solutions tools such as digital audio...
, Peter Vogel and Kim Ryrie in Sydney, Australia.
1979 – RaceCam
RaceCam
RaceCam is a video camera system used primarily in motor racing, which uses a network of car-mounted cameras, microwave radio transmitters, and relays from helicopters to send live images from inside a race car to both pit crews and television audiences....
– Race Cam was developed by Geoff Healey, an engineer with Australian Television Network Seven in Sydney. The tiny lightweight camera is used in sports broadcasts and provides viewers with spectacular views of events such as motor racing, which are impossible with conventional cameras.
1980 – Dual flush toilet – Bruce Thompson, working for Caroma in Australia, developed the Duoset cistern, with two buttons, and two flush volumes as a water-saving measure, now responsible for savings in excess of 32000 litres of water per household per year.
1980 – Wave-piercing
Wave-piercing
A wave-piercing boat hull has a very fine bow, with reduced buoyancy in the forward portions.When a wave is encountered, the lack of buoyancy means the hull pierces through the water rather than riding over the top - resulting in a smoother ride than traditional designs, and in diminished stress on...
catamaran
Catamaran
A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...
– The first high speed, stable catamarans were developed by Phillip Hercus and Robert Clifford of Incat
INCAT
INCAT is a part of Tata Technologies Limited, a company in the Tata Group and operates in the field of Automotive Industry providing Engineering and Design solutions. The company took over a much larger player in the field namely INCAT, a Europe based company, in 2005...
in Tasmania.
1981 – CPAP mask – Professor Colin Sullivan of Sydney University developed the Continuous Positive Airflow Pressure (CPAP) mask. The CPAP system first developed by Sullivan has become the most common treatment for sleep disordered breathing. The invention was commercialised in 1989 by Australian firm ResMed
ResMed
Founded in Australia, ResMed is now a global manufacturer of products for the treatment of sleep disorders, particularly obstructive sleep apnea . ResMed employs about 2700 employees worldwide, it has direct operations in 18 countries and distribution in more than 50 countries...
, which is currently one of the world's two largest suppliers of CPAP technology.
Ben Lexcen
Ben Lexcen AM born Robert Miller was an Australian yachtsman and marine architect. He is famous for the winged keel design applied to Australia II which, in 1983, became the first non-American yacht to win the prestigious America's Cup in 132 years.-Early life:Born in the coastal town of...
designed a winged keel that helped Australia II
Australia II
Australia II is the Australian 12-metre-class challenge racing yacht that was launched in 1982 and won the 1983 America's Cup for the Royal Perth Yacht Club...
end the New York Yacht Club
New York Yacht Club
The New York Yacht Club is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. The organization has over 3,000 members as of 2011. ...
's 132 year ownership of the America's Cup
America's Cup
The America’s Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging...
. The keel gave the yacht better steering and manoeuvrability in heavy winds.
1984 – Frozen embryo baby
Embryo transfer
Embryo transfer refers to a step in the process of assisted reproduction in which embryos are placed into the uterus of a female with the intent to establish a pregnancy...
- The world's first frozen embryo baby was born in Melbourne on 28 March 1984
1984 – Baby Safety Capsule
Infant car seat
An infant safety seat, also known as a child safety seat, a child restraint system, a restraint car seat, and, ambiguously, commonly known as a car seat, is a restraint which is secured to the seat of an automobile equipped with safety harnesses to hold an infant or small stature people in the...
– Babies in a car crash used to bounce around like a football. In 1984, for the first time babies had a bassinette with an air bubble in the base and a harness that distributed forces across the bassinette protecting the baby. New South Wales public hospitals now refuse to allow parents take a baby home by car without one.
1986 – Gene shears – The discovery of gene shears was made by CSIRO scientists, Wayne Gerlach and Jim Haseloff. So-called hammerhead ribozyme
Hammerhead ribozyme
Hammerhead RNAs are RNAs that self-cleave via a small conserved secondary structural motif termed a hammerhead because of its shape. Most hammerhead RNAs are subsets of two classes of plant pathogenic RNAs: the satellite RNAs of RNA viruses and the viroids. The self-cleavage reactions, first...
s are bits of genetic material that interrupt a DNA code at a particular point, and can be designed to cut out genes that cause disease or dangerous proteins
1989 – Polilight
Polilight
The Polilight is a portable, high-intensity, filtered light source used by forensic scientists and others to detect fingerprints, bodily fluids and other evidence from crime scenes and other places....
forensic lamp – Ron Warrender and Milutin Stoilovic, forensic scientists at the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, developed Unilite which could be set to just the right wavelength to show fingerprints up well against any background. Rofin Australia Pty Ltd, developed this product into the portable Polilight which shows up invisible clues such as fingerprints and writing that has been scribbled over, as well as reworked sections on paintings.
1991 – Buffalo fly trap – In 1991 the CSIRO developed a low-tech translucent plastic tent with a dark inner tunnel lined with brushes. When a cow walks through, the brushed flies fly upwards toward the light and become trapped in the solar-heated plastic dome where they quickly die from desiccation (drying out) and fall to the ground, where ants eat them.
1992 – Multi-focal contact lens – The world's first multi-focal contact lens was invented by optical research scientist, Stephen Newman in Queensland.
1992 – Spray-on skin
Spray-on skin
Spray-on skin is a patented skin culturing treatment for burns victims, developed by scientist Marie Stoner and plastic surgeon Dr Fiona Wood of Perth, Western Australia....
– Developed by Dr Fiona Wood at Royal Perth Hospital
Royal Perth Hospital
Royal Perth Hospital is an 855-bed teaching hospital located on the northeastern edge of the CBD of Perth, Western Australia . Royal Perth Hospital also has specialised rehabilitation facilities at Shenton Park.-History:...
1993 – Underwater PC – The world's first underwater computer with a five-button hand-held keypad was developed by Bruce Macdonald at the Australian Institute of Marine Science.
1995 – EXELGRAM – The world's most sophisticated optical anti-counterfeit
Counterfeit
To counterfeit means to illegally imitate something. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product...
ing technology was developed by the CSIRO.
1995 – Jindalee Radar System
Jindalee Operational Radar Network
The Jindalee Operational Radar Network is an over-the-horizon radar network that can monitor air and sea movements across 37,000 km2. It has an official range of 3,000 km. It is used in the defence of Australia and can also monitor maritime operations, wave heights and wind directions...
– Developed by Scientists at the CSIRO, the Jindalee Radar System detects stealthy
Stealth technology
Stealth technology also termed LO technology is a sub-discipline of military tactics and passive electronic countermeasures, which cover a range of techniques used with personnel, aircraft, ships, submarines, and missiles, to make them less visible to radar, infrared, sonar and other detection...
aircraft and missiles by searching for the turbulence generated by such vehicles.
1996 – Anti-flu Medication – Relenza was developed by a team of scientists at the Victorian College of Pharmacy at Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
in Melbourne. The team was led by Mark von Itzstein in association with the CSIRO. Relenza was discovered as a part of the Australian biotechnology company Biota's project to develop antiviral agents via rational drug design.
21st century
Scramjet
A scramjet is a variant of a ramjet airbreathing jet engine in which combustion takes place in supersonic airflow...
– On 30 July 2002, the University of Queensland
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
's HyShot
HyShot
HyShot is a research project of The University of Queensland, Australia Centre for Hypersonics, to demonstrate the possibility of supersonic combustion under flight conditions and compare the results of shock tunnel experiments.- Overview :...
team and their international partners conducted the first ever successful test flight of a scramjet. This test was conducted at the rocket range in outback South Australia called Woomera
Woomera, South Australia
The town, or village, of Woomera is located in the south east corner of the Woomera Prohibited Area ; colloquially known as the Woomera Rocket Range...
.
2003 – Blast Glass – A ballistic and blast resistant glass system was invented by Peter Stephinson. Unlike conventional bulletproof glass it incorporates an air cavity to absorb the shock wave of explosions, and was effective in protecting the Australian Embassy in the Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
bombings of 2004.