Lasting Impact

AUSTRALIA HAS A STRONG ELECTRICAL HERITAGE, WITH A NUMBER OF AUSTRALIANS – AND AUSSIE-MADE INVENTIONS – LEAVING A LASTING IMPACT ON THE WORLD

DR MARK LIDWILL AND EDGAR BOOTH – PACEMAKER (1920s)
Millions of people rely on pacemakers to keep their hearts beating properly – and they can only do so thanks to the work of Dr Lidwill and physicist Booth who invented the first artificial pacemaker in Sydney around 100 years ago. The duo created the technology to send small electrical charges into the heart to maintain a consistent beat, and it was used in 1928 to revive a newborn baby, who made a full recovery. Since the late 1960s, pacemakers have been used inside people, and their technology continues to make a difference today.

PROF GRAEME CLARK – COCHLEAR IMPLANTS (1970s)
Another electrically charged innovation that makes a huge difference to people the world over today came from 1970s Melbourne, when Professor Graeme Clark invented the bionic ear – cochlear implant – at The University of Melbourne. Clark’s work was spurred by a desire to help improve his own father’s hearing, and the implant works by electrically stimulating the auditory nerve.

ARTHUR ARNOT AND WILLIAM BRAIN – THE ELECTRIC DRILL (1880s)
Back in 1880s Melbourne, Arnot and Brain created and patented the electric drill. It was originally designed for mining, and was one of the first patented power tools. A few years later, the idea was developed by the Fein brothers in Stuttgart, who invented the first portable power drill.

PETER TALBOT – THE POWER BOARD (1970s)
The power board is a staple in homes and offices the world over today, extending electricity availability to multiple devices. It was first created right here in Australia by Peter Talbot, who was working for Kambrook at the time. Unfortunately for Kambrook, it was more interested in getting the innovation to market than protecting its IP, so it never patented the product, and missed out on decades of royalties!

DR JOHN O’SULLIVAN AND TEAM – WI-FI (1980s)
In the late 1980s, a CSIRO team led by Dr John O’Sullivan began working on wireless local area network (WLAN) technology, which would ultimately become what we all know as Wi-Fi. It was patented by the CSIRO in 1992, and the Wi-Fi Alliance was formed in 1999 to hold the Wi-Fi trademark. It all started right here though – imagine a world
without Wi-Fi today!