page_title: Timeline of Australian inventions
section_title: 20th century Post-World War II
hierarchical_section_title: Timeline of Australian inventions / 20th century Post-World War II
caption_attribution_description: English: A cheap Australian wine cask, 10% ABV, costing around $A 9.00 (January 2008)
context_page_description: This is a timeline of Australian inventions consisting of products and technology invented in Australia 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 woomera, and the very new, such as the scramjet, first fired at the Woomera 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 via air and sea, Australians have been leaders in inventions relating to both maritime and aeronautical matters, including powered flight, the black box flight recorder, the inflatable escape slide, the surf ski and the wave-piercing catamaran winged keel. Since the earliest days of European settlement, Australia's main industries have been agriculture and mining.
context_section_description: 1945 – Hills Hoist – 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 – Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer – The atomic absorption spectrophotometer is used in chemical analysis to determine low concentrations of metals in gases or vaporized solutions. It was developed by Sir Alan Walsh of the CSIRO using ionization lamps specific to the metal being detected.
  1953 – Solar hot water – Developed by a team at the CSIRO led by Roger N Morse
  1955 – Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) – Invented and developed by Edward George Bowen 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 in Queensland.
  1956 – Stainless Steel Braces – Percy Raymond Begg of Adelaide collaborated with metallurgist Arthur Wilcock to develop a gentler, stainless steel system in 1956 involving gradual adjustments rather than earlier brute force methods used to straighten teeth.
  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 clothing with a permanent crease – "SiroSet," the process for producing permanently creased fabric, was invented by Dr Arthur Farnworth of the CSIRO.
  1958 – Black box flight recorder – The 'black box' voice and instrument data recorder was invented by Dr David Warren in Melbourne.
  1960 – Plastic spectacle lenses – The world's first plastic spectacle lenses, 60 per cent lighter than glass lenses, were designed by Scientific Optical Laboratories in Adelaide.
  1961 – Ultrasound – 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.
  1963 – Rostrum camera – The first animation rostrum was commissioned by Graphik Animation, later known as Raymond Lea Animation in 1963. Designed and constructed by Jack Kennedy with the assistance of Jim Lynich, it was in operation by 1964.
  1965 – Inflatable escape slide – The inflatable aircraft escape slide which doubles as a raft was invented by Jack Grant of Qantas.
  1965 – Wine cask – 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 wine company in 1972
  1970 – Staysharp knife – The self-sharpening knife was developed by Wiltshire.
  1971 – Variable rack and pinion 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 – 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 cop
caption: 4L of Australian white wine
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