Aussie Inventions that Changed the World

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Home Life

Season 1 | Episode 1 | The History Channel | June 24, 2019

The surprising stories behind four helpful household inventions to improve home life: Gilbert Toyne created an Aussie backyard icon - the rotary clothes hoist - only to have it made famous by someone else. Myra Taylor improved women's lives with her boneless corset leaving a legacy of freedom we still enjoy today. Mervyn Richardson forever changed the suburban landscape with his Victa lawnmower, while Dr Steve Cummings and Bruce Thompson achieved huge water savings around the world with the dual-flush toilet.

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Videos in series

48:33 | Published 2 days ago

Aussie Inventions that Changed the World

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Farm Smart

The push for smarter farming is at the core of Australia's tough agricultural history. Richard and Clarence Smith quarrelled over who was the true inventor, but their stump-jump plough improved the economic prospects of farmers working difficult terrain. Frederic Wolseley's mechanical shears eventually won over the shearers and transformed the wool industry. Lew Bandt designed the ute for farmers needing a comfortable working vehicle, and Benjamin Dunkerley invented a fur-cutting machine that led to the iconic Akubra.

Design and technologies

53:09 | Published 1 week ago

Aussie Inventions that Changed the World

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Wartime

The fires of war become the forges of Australian invention. William Scurry invented a decoy drip rifle to help Anzacs safely evacuate from Gallipoli. Alexander Worsfold built his all-terrain transporter to hurry injured soldiers to field hospitals on the Western Front. Adelaide-born Howard Florey and his team developed the wonder drug penicillin that was first deployed amongst infected allied soldiers during World War II. And from Wollongong, Evelyn Owen's submachine gun out-performed its competitors and become known as 'the diggers' darling'.

Design and technologies

50:46 | Published 2 weeks ago

Aussie Inventions that Changed the World

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Communication

Australian inventors have boldly re-imagined communication across the spectrum of technologies: Graeme Clark's extraordinary bionic ear delivered deaf patients the sound of speech; John O'Sullivan and his CSIRO team created the world's first high-speed wi-fi that dramatically changed the communication landscape worldwide; Henry Sutton's visionary Telephane was designed in Ballarat decades before the television; and post-master James Raymond established the world's first pre-paid postage system in Sydney in 1838 with his delightfully simple pre-paid envelope.

Design and technologies

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48:33 | Published 2 days ago

Aussie Inventions that Changed the World

-

Farm Smart

The push for smarter farming is at the core of Australia's tough agricultural history. Richard and Clarence Smith quarrelled over who was the true inventor, but their stump-jump plough improved the economic prospects of farmers working difficult terrain. Frederic Wolseley's mechanical shears eventually won over the shearers and transformed the wool industry. Lew Bandt designed the ute for farmers needing a comfortable working vehicle, and Benjamin Dunkerley invented a fur-cutting machine that led to the iconic Akubra.

Design and technologies

9:47 | Published 2 days ago

The invention of the ute

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Farm Smart

After Lewis Brandt at Ford Australia in Melbourne received a letter from a farmer's wife that she wanted a vehicle to, "take her to church on Sundays and pigs to market on Monday", Lew took on the challenge. He designed a vehicle that could serve these two purposes. After the Great Depression when funds for the average Australian were scarce, a two-in-one vehicle was incredibly useful.

Design and technologies

9:56 | Published 2 days ago

The stump-jump plough's invention

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Farm Smart

When clearing mallee stump for agricultural crop land was proving to be a challenge, Richard Smith came up with the solution to the formidable problem of how to plough such impenetrable land. The stump-jump plough is one of the inventions that enabled the development of Australia's wheat belt, from WA, across to Victoria and into NSW.

Design and technologies

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