Top Inventions of Australians

HILLS HOIST.

Returning from World War II, Lance Hill was seemingly in an inventing mood. Working in his shed in the backyard of his Adelaide home, Hill created a revolution in Australian clotheslines. While rotary clotheslines were nothing new, Hill combined it with a crown and pinion mechanism for raising and lowering the line. Joining forces with his brother in law, they managed to create a high-quality, functional product for a relatively cheap price. Production began in 1946 and by 1948 was selling for 11 pounds, which was twice the average weekly wage. Yet demand was reportedly so high the factory making the clotheslines could barely keep up.

10 years after the Hills Hoist began production, Lance Hill was awarded a patent for his invention, despite the fact his initial patent application had lapsed. The company now sells clotheslines all over the world.

WIRELESS LAN's.

In 1992, a team of scientists at the CSIRO, led by Dr John O’Sullivan, were working on a mathematical formula to tidy up the intergalactic radio waves they were using while researching black holes. The mathematics involved, called “fast Fourier transforms”, involved a thorough understanding of how radio waves behave in different environments. It was only later that the team discovered their work in astronomy could be applied to wireless technology being developed here on planet Earth as well.

The technology basically beats the interference caused by reflected radio waves by splitting radio channels apart. One of the better analogies of what it does is turning a one way road into a multi-lane highway, with the end result being a network about five times faster.

In 1992, the CSIRO received an Australian patent for their technology, and were awarded a US patent in 1996. This is quite possibly the most important patent the CSIRO has ever received, as it provided the backbone of their argument in the legal battle that was to follow. A decade after the patent, Intel and Apple were among the companies who launched wireless devices using the CSIRO technology, and later fought to have the patent invalidated.

COCHLEAR IMPLANT.

In 1966, Australian doctor Graeme Clark read a paper from an American surgeon who had successfully given a patient hearing sensations using electrical stimulation. Inspired by potentially aiding his hearing impaired father, in 1967 Clark decided to begin his research into trying to develop a technology to give hearing to deaf people.

The road to creating the first Australian cochlear implant lasted 11 years. Clarke was adamant that extensive trials needed to be carried out on animals before experimenting on humans, which could have been driven by the lareg amounts of criticism he received from colleagues during the early stages of his research. Money was also an issue, with the negative criticism towards his studies led to difficulties in getting funds from statutory sources. In 1974, a telethon on channel 0 and Sir Reginald Ansett raised enough funds for a human operation.

In 1978, Clark operated on Rod Saunders, giving him the ability to perceive sound again. Clark was overcome with emotion at the success.

In 2009, more than 125,000 people around the world had been given the gift of hearing thanks to Clark’s creation. Its impossible to underestimate just how important Clark’s research and creation has been in the lives of so many people all over the world.

ELECTRIC DRILL.

Back in 1889, Arthur James Arnot travelled from his home country Scotland to Melbourne, to help build a power plant for the Union Electric company. That same year, he was awarded the patent for the electric drill. He’d spent time working part time at an electrical company in Glasgow while studying, so he had the skills and knowledge of electricity needed to create his invention with colleague William Blanch Brain.

The drill designed by Arnot wasn’t the same as the electric drill you find in your toolbox these days – his was specifically designed to drill rock and coal, and as such needed to be relatively large to be effective. But it paved the way for other inventors to follow suit and just six years later, Arnot’s invention had been miniaturised and made portable by Wilhelm Fein in Germany.

Although drills in their most basic form had been around for centuries, Arnot’s contribution to an electric version has completely changed the way we look at tools, giving us the ability to build bigger and better creations than would ever have been possible without them. The next time you go to drill a hole in the wall to hang up a photo, remember that you’d have to do it manually if not for Arnot’s ingenuity.

UTE.

The story sounds like an urban legend: In 1932, a Gippsland farmer’s wife sent Ford a request for a revolutionary new car design: “Why don’t you build people like us a vehicle to go to church in on a Sunday, and which can carry our pigs to market on Mondays?” she asked. The job of designing a car of this versatility fell on the shoulders of 22 year old engineer Lewis Bandt, and two years later, the first Ford ute was released.

The original ute had a wheel base of 112 inches, a five foot five inch tray that could carry 1200 pounds (550kg). The car went on to become a huge success, and was exported to the US and dubbed ‘kangaroo chasers’.

Sadly, Bandt’s invention was also part of his final moments as he was killed in a collision with a sand truck. He was driving a vintage 1934 Ford Ute he had rebuilt for himself. Fortunately, Bandt’s legacy lives on with utes owned and operated by tradespeople and farmers all around the world.