INVENTION AND INNOVATION IN AUSTRALIA: THE HISTORIAN&apos;S LENS

Moyal, Ann

doi:10.1080/08109028708629415

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Prometheus

Volume 5, Issue 1

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INVENTION AND INNOVATION IN AUSTRALIA: THE HISTORIAN'S LENS

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Author(s): Ann Moyal

Publication date (Print): June 1987

Journal: Prometheus

Publisher: Pluto Journals

Keywords: invention, innovation, manufacturing, industry, technology policy, management, attitudes

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Abstract

There is a strong body of opinion that Australia‘s present technological achievement and poor attitudes to high technology development remain essentially ’colonial‘. This notion is a misconception. An overview study of some 100 inventors, technologists, and entrepreneurs indicates that vigorous attitudes to innovation prevailed in the Colonies in the nineteenth century and established for Australia some significant technological leads. Lessons from these attitudes both underline the continuing importance of the ’lone inventor’ and hold relevance for education, management, and technology policies today.

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Journal

Journal ID (publisher-id): cpro20

Journal ID (archive): CPRO

Title: Prometheus

Subtitle: Critical Studies in Innovation

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN (Print): 0810-9028

ISSN (Electronic): 1470-1030

Publication date (Print): June 1987

Volume: 5

Issue: 1

Pages: 92-110

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Article

Publisher ID: 8629415 Coden ID: Prometheus, Vol. 5, No. 1, 1987: pp. 92–110

DOI: 10.1080/08109028708629415

SO-VID: 8ecc90ac-816e-43cd-81f7-bdd27469822d

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All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

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Figures: 0, Tables: 0, References: 47, Pages: 19

NOTES AND REFERENCES

Linge G. J.R.. 1979. . Industrial A wakening; A Geography of Australian Manufacturing, 1788–1890 . , Canberra : : Australian National University Press. .
Manning Clark. . 1978. . In Search of Henry Lawson . , Melbourne : : Macmillan. .
Buchanan R. A.. 1983. . The British contribution to Australian Engineering: the Australian Dictionary of Biography entries. . Historical Studies of Australia and New Zealand . , Vol. 20((8)): 401––419. .
Butlin N. G.. 1965. . Investment in Australian Economic Development, 1861–1900 . , Cambridge : : Cambridge University Press. .
Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB), vol 5, 1851–1890, pp.299–301; Alan Barnard, Visions and Profits; Studies in the business career of Thomas Sutcliffe Mort, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1961.
ADB, vol. 5, 1851–1890, p.342.
ADB, vol. 6, 1851–1890, pp.431–2.
ABD, vol. 5, 1851–1890; Amirah Inglis, ‘Trials of an inventor in Australia. The case of Lawrence Hargrove’. Records of the Australian Academy of Science, 1, 1, 1966, pp. 18–41.
Correspondence of Lawrence Hargrave, Power House Museum, Sydney; Ann Mozley Moyal, Scientists in Nineteenth Century Australia: A Documentary History, Cassell Australia, Sydney, 1976, Chapter II.
Hargrave's ‘Manifesto on patenting’, quoted ibid, p.252.
ABD, vol. 6, 1851–1890, pp.226–7.
Encel S. and Inglis A.. 1966. . Patents, invention and economic progress. . Economic Record . , Vol. 24((98)): 572––88. .
For a study of the effects of this in respect of firms in the early to mid-twentieth century, see Trevor Hastings, ‘The characteristics of early adopters of new technology: an Australian study’, Economic Record, 52, 138, 1976, pp.239–50.
As Butlin notes “As landowners, land settlers, investors, borrowers, business operators, employers, …Australian governments were prominent in the late nineteenth century as direct actors in all the implied markets. Expressed in terms of market structure, they accounted for a large share of the transactions of these markets’. N.G. Butlin, A. Barnard, J.J. Pincus, Government and Capitalism: Public and Private Choice in Twentieth Century Australia, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1982, p.11.
Geoffrey Blainey. . 1974. . The Rush That Never Ended . , Melbourne : : Melbourne University Press. .
Ibid., p.78. Thureau later became government geologist in Tasmania.
Ibid., p.154.
Ibid., p.222.
William Lowe, pioneer steamship builder; Peter Russell, Sydney iron founder; Hugh Lennon, leading ploughmaker; John Bunch, agricultural technologist, were cases in point. See Malcolm D. Prentis, The Scots in Australia, Sydney University Press, Sydney, 1983.
See Ann Moyal, ‘A Bright & Savage Land’: Scientists in Colonial Australia, William Collins, Sydney, 1986, chapter 5.
ABD, vol. 3, 1851–1890, p. 163.
ADB, vol. 8, 1891–1939.
Encel and Inglis, op. cit., p.576.
See D. P. Mellor, The Role of Science and Industry: Australia in the War of 1939–1945, Series 4, Civil, vol. 5, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1958.
Records of the Australian Academy of Science, retitled Historical Records of Australian Science. For a further source see Jean Moran, Scientists in the Political and Public Arena: A History of the Australian Association of Scientific Workers, 1939–1949, M. Phil. thesis, Griffith University, 1982.
Bolton H. C.. 1983. . J.J. McNeill and the development of optical research in Australia. . Historical Records of Australian Science . , Vol. 5((4)): 55––72. .
Notably five university laboratories in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Tasmania and Western Australia, and three Commonwealth Laboratories — the Solar Observatory in Canberra, the Munitions Supply Laboratory in Melbourne, and the National Standards Laboratory in Sydney.
Peter Stubbs. . 1968. . Innovation and Research: a study in Australian industry . , Melbourne : : Cheshire. .
Quoted Ibid., p.157.
Senate Standing Committee on Science and the Environment, Industrial Research and Development in Australia, AGPS, Canberra, 1979.
Sydney Morning Herald, 3 June 1986, Federal Parliament report.
For the scientific input, see Moyal, ‘A Bright & Savage Land’, op. cit.
Stuart Macdonald, ‘The lowdown on high technology in Australia’, in A. Birch (ed.) Science Research in Australia: Who Benefits?, Centre for Continuing Education, Australian National University, Canberra, 1983, pp.156–7.
Stuart Macdonald. . 1979. . The need to succeed. . Journal of General Management . , Vol. 4:: 77––8. .
Enderbee L. A.. 1985. . Engineers and technological change in Australia. . Australian Quarterly . , Vol. 57:: 233
Professor Lin is also pressing the conservative Institution of Engineers, Australia, to strengthen its professionalism by insisting that membership can only be maintained by engineers upgrading their qualifications through management, business, administrative and other post-first degree courses.
ABC ‘Quantum’, 4 March 1987.
Australian Science and Technology Council (ASTEC), Future Directions for CSIRO, AGPS, Canberra, 1985.
Ibid., recommendations 1.43 and 1.44.
Stuart Macdonald. . 1986. . Australia — the patent system and the individual inventor. . European Intellectual Property Review . , Vol. 6:: 154––9. .
Stuart Macdonald. . 1986. . The distinctive research of the individual inventor. . Research Policy . , Vol. 15:: 199––210. .
Notably the ‘enterprise workshops’ in each State. See also Peter Stubbs, Technology and Australia's Future: Industry and International Competitiveness. Australian Industries Development Association (AIDA) Research Centre, Melbourne, 1980; Commonwealth Record, 11, 21, 2–8 June 1986, pp.898–9.
Lori Ionnou, ‘Venture capital clubs’, Venture, Spetember 1984, p.64.
Peter Stirling, ‘The crossfertilization of ideas and skills’, Your Business, December 1985/January 1986, pp.11–19.
See Venture, The official newsletter of the Queensland Venture Club, GPO Box 1952, Brisbane, 4001.
Quoted Stirling, op. cit., p. 18.
Morris Teubal, ‘Neutrality in science policy: the promotion of sophisticated industrial technology in Israel’, Minerva, 21, 2–3, 1983, pp. 172–97 and Prometheus, 4, 1, 1986, pp.141–66. See also ‘Last chance for our manufacturers’ [an interview with the Minister for Industry, Technology and Commerce, Senator Button], The Australian, 17 February 1987.

Comments

Comment on this article

[1] Linge G. J.R.. 1979. . Industrial A wakening; A Geography of Australian Manufacturing, 1788–1890 . , Canberra : : Australian National University Press. .

[2] Manning Clark. . 1978. . In Search of Henry Lawson . , Melbourne : : Macmillan. .

[3] Buchanan R. A.. 1983. . The British contribution to Australian Engineering: the Australian Dictionary of Biography entries. . Historical Studies of Australia and New Zealand . , Vol. 20((8)): 401––419. .

[4] Butlin N. G.. 1965. . Investment in Australian Economic Development, 1861–1900 . , Cambridge : : Cambridge University Press. .

[5] Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB), vol 5, 1851–1890, pp.299–301; Alan Barnard, Visions and Profits; Studies in the business career of Thomas Sutcliffe Mort, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1961.

[6] ADB, vol. 5, 1851–1890, p.342.

[7] ADB, vol. 6, 1851–1890, pp.431–2.

[8] ABD, vol. 5, 1851–1890; Amirah Inglis, ‘Trials of an inventor in Australia. The case of Lawrence Hargrove’. Records of the Australian Academy of Science, 1, 1, 1966, pp. 18–41.

[9] Correspondence of Lawrence Hargrave, Power House Museum, Sydney; Ann Mozley Moyal, Scientists in Nineteenth Century Australia: A Documentary History, Cassell Australia, Sydney, 1976, Chapter II.

[10] Hargrave's ‘Manifesto on patenting’, quoted ibid, p.252.

[11] ABD, vol. 6, 1851–1890, pp.226–7.

[12] Encel S. and Inglis A.. 1966. . Patents, invention and economic progress. . Economic Record . , Vol. 24((98)): 572––88. .

[13] For a study of the effects of this in respect of firms in the early to mid-twentieth century, see Trevor Hastings, ‘The characteristics of early adopters of new technology: an Australian study’, Economic Record, 52, 138, 1976, pp.239–50.

[14] As Butlin notes “As landowners, land settlers, investors, borrowers, business operators, employers, …Australian governments were prominent in the late nineteenth century as direct actors in all the implied markets. Expressed in terms of market structure, they accounted for a large share of the transactions of these markets’. N.G. Butlin, A. Barnard, J.J. Pincus, Government and Capitalism: Public and Private Choice in Twentieth Century Australia, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1982, p.11.

[15] Geoffrey Blainey. . 1974. . The Rush That Never Ended . , Melbourne : : Melbourne University Press. .

[16] Ibid., p.78. Thureau later became government geologist in Tasmania.

[17] Ibid., p.154.

[18] Ibid., p.222.

[19] William Lowe, pioneer steamship builder; Peter Russell, Sydney iron founder; Hugh Lennon, leading ploughmaker; John Bunch, agricultural technologist, were cases in point. See Malcolm D. Prentis, The Scots in Australia, Sydney University Press, Sydney, 1983.

[20] See Ann Moyal, ‘A Bright & Savage Land’: Scientists in Colonial Australia, William Collins, Sydney, 1986, chapter 5.

[21] ABD, vol. 3, 1851–1890, p. 163.

[22] ADB, vol. 8, 1891–1939.

[23] Encel and Inglis, op. cit., p.576.

[24] See D. P. Mellor, The Role of Science and Industry: Australia in the War of 1939–1945, Series 4, Civil, vol. 5, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1958.

[25] Records of the Australian Academy of Science, retitled Historical Records of Australian Science. For a further source see Jean Moran, Scientists in the Political and Public Arena: A History of the Australian Association of Scientific Workers, 1939–1949, M. Phil. thesis, Griffith University, 1982.

[26] Bolton H. C.. 1983. . J.J. McNeill and the development of optical research in Australia. . Historical Records of Australian Science . , Vol. 5((4)): 55––72. .

[27] Notably five university laboratories in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Tasmania and Western Australia, and three Commonwealth Laboratories — the Solar Observatory in Canberra, the Munitions Supply Laboratory in Melbourne, and the National Standards Laboratory in Sydney.

[28] Peter Stubbs. . 1968. . Innovation and Research: a study in Australian industry . , Melbourne : : Cheshire. .

[29] Quoted Ibid., p.157.

[30] Senate Standing Committee on Science and the Environment, Industrial Research and Development in Australia, AGPS, Canberra, 1979.

[31] Sydney Morning Herald, 3 June 1986, Federal Parliament report.

[32] For the scientific input, see Moyal, ‘A Bright & Savage Land’, op. cit.

[33] Stuart Macdonald, ‘The lowdown on high technology in Australia’, in A. Birch (ed.) Science Research in Australia: Who Benefits?, Centre for Continuing Education, Australian National University, Canberra, 1983, pp.156–7.

[34] Stuart Macdonald. . 1979. . The need to succeed. . Journal of General Management . , Vol. 4:: 77––8. .

[35] Enderbee L. A.. 1985. . Engineers and technological change in Australia. . Australian Quarterly . , Vol. 57:: 233

[36] Professor Lin is also pressing the conservative Institution of Engineers, Australia, to strengthen its professionalism by insisting that membership can only be maintained by engineers upgrading their qualifications through management, business, administrative and other post-first degree courses.

[37] ABC ‘Quantum’, 4 March 1987.

[38] Australian Science and Technology Council (ASTEC), Future Directions for CSIRO, AGPS, Canberra, 1985.

[39] Ibid., recommendations 1.43 and 1.44.

[40] Stuart Macdonald. . 1986. . Australia — the patent system and the individual inventor. . European Intellectual Property Review . , Vol. 6:: 154––9. .

[41] Stuart Macdonald. . 1986. . The distinctive research of the individual inventor. . Research Policy . , Vol. 15:: 199––210. .

[42] Notably the ‘enterprise workshops’ in each State. See also Peter Stubbs, Technology and Australia's Future: Industry and International Competitiveness. Australian Industries Development Association (AIDA) Research Centre, Melbourne, 1980; Commonwealth Record, 11, 21, 2–8 June 1986, pp.898–9.

[43] Lori Ionnou, ‘Venture capital clubs’, Venture, Spetember 1984, p.64.

[44] Peter Stirling, ‘The crossfertilization of ideas and skills’, Your Business, December 1985/January 1986, pp.11–19.

[45] See Venture, The official newsletter of the Queensland Venture Club, GPO Box 1952, Brisbane, 4001.

[46] Quoted Stirling, op. cit., p. 18.

[47] Morris Teubal, ‘Neutrality in science policy: the promotion of sophisticated industrial technology in Israel’, Minerva, 21, 2–3, 1983, pp. 172–97 and Prometheus, 4, 1, 1986, pp.141–66. See also ‘Last chance for our manufacturers’ [an interview with the Minister for Industry, Technology and Commerce, Senator Button], The Australian, 17 February 1987.