Innovation - Powering future industries
A list of Australian inventions
1856 - Geelong resident James Harrison went to London to patent his commercial ice-machine system, known today as the refrigerator.
1858 - Australian rules football began its development when Tom Wills called for a 'foot-ball club, a rifle club, or other athletic pursuits' to keep cricketers fit during winter.
1868 - Granny Smith Apple was propagated by Maria Ann Smith in Eastwood, New South Wales.
1887 - Bobby McDonald, a young Aboriginal runner became the first person to officially begin a running race using a crouch start.
1893 - Box kite was invented by Lawrence Hargrave. Having added a seat to four connected box kites, he flew with the kites 16 feet (4.8 metres) off the ground, proving to the world that it was possible to build a safe, heavier-than-air flying machine.
1906 – Lyster Ormsby invented the surf life saving reel and Australia unveiled the first multi-reel, feature-length film ever produced in the world, The Story of the Kelly Gang.
1930 - Clapperboard – The wooden marker used to synchronise sound and film was invented by Frank Thring Sr.
1943 - Splayd – The combination of knife, fork and spoon invented by William McArthur.
1952 - Sir Alan Walsh of CSIRO begins to develop the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. It is still used today in chemical analysis to determine low concentrations of metals in gases or vaporized solutions.
1953 - Solar hot water – Developed by a team at the CSIRO led by Roger N. Morse.
1964 - Latex gloves – The Ansell company developed the world's first latex gloves.
1972 - Power board – Peter Talbot invented the power board.
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.
1980 - Dual flush toilet – Bruce Thompson, working for Caroma in Australia,
1983 - The winged keel, invented by Ben Lexcen, made its debut in 1983 in America’s Cup on Australia II.
1989 - Polilight forensic lamp – Ron Warrender and Milutin Stoilovic. Could be set to just the right wavelength to show fingerprints up well against any background.
1992 - Multi-focal contact lens - invented by optical research scientist, Stephen Newman.
1996 - Anti-flu medication – Relenza was developed by Monash University in Melbourne.
2006 - Brisbane-based medical researchers Professor Ian Frazer and Dr Jian Zhou developed the world’s first anti-cancer vaccine. Known by the commercial name, Gardasil.
