Despite its short history since European settlement and relatively small population, Australia has generated a remarkable number of important inventions in the last 200 years. In the areas of invention, the sciences and medical research (For those that like to do comparisons then you could compare and contrast Australia's inventive output with say the inventive output of the state of Florida in the USA or Portugal in Europe both of which have roughly the same cumulative population over that period.) Australia has achieved at a level well above what would be expected for a country of its population. Below is a list of a number of inventions that White Hat considers significant.

The Box Kite (or cellular kite) invented by William Hargrave in the early 1890s during his investigation into the lifting properties of curved surfaces. Hargrave's work was to form the basis of much manned flight that followed. Hargraves himself flew 16 feet on 12 November 1894 by linking a group of such kites together and adding a seat.

Hills Hoist - the rotary washing line with hoist quickly became and remains a fixture in Australian back yards. The original rotary clothes hoist had been designed by Gilbert Toyne in Geelong in 1912, but Lance Hill of Adelaide further developed the design from 1945 onwards and marketed it under the name of the Hills Hoist. He later added and patented the winding mechanism in 1956.

Blast Glass (also known as Stop Shot). A ballistic and blast resistant glass system. Unlike conventional bullet proof glass it incorporates an air cavity to help absorb the shock wave of explosions. It almost certainly saved many lives in the terrorist bombing of the Australian Embassy in Djakarta in 2004. Invented by Peter Stephinson.

The Vertically Integrated Migration Service - in the mid 19th century Caroline Chisholm together with her husband set up a private migration support system from the UK to Australia. This included recruitment and education of potential migrants in England and Ireland, preparation and education for their arrival in Australia, overseeing of the humanitarian and health conditions on the transport ships, a loans system to help families establish themselves, and employment and placement services when the migrants arrived in Australia all within a business model that made the operation sustainable. This remarkable achievement would still put to shame the services provided by many governments and wealthy NGOs throughout the world today.

The Australian Ballot (Secret Ballot) - the system of casting one's political (or other) vote in a manner that is private and confidential on an anonymous ballot paper. Until the mid 19th century, voting for public office was publicly displayed which left the voter open to intimidation and/or bribery. A secret ballot system was invented by Henry Chapman of Melbourne in 1855 and within a short time of each other in 1856, both the colonies of South Australia and Victoria created a secret ballot system which became known around the world as the Australian Ballot. These Australian colonies were followed at considerable distance by New Zealand in 1870, the UK in 1872, Canada in 1874 and eventually the first presidential election in USA to use Australian Ballot was in 1892. Today the right to a secret ballot as a protection against coercion and intimidation is accepted as a cornerstone for any democratic state or institution.

(Note: This should not be confused with representative voting. Where a person has been chosen to represent others - such as in parliament - it is usually regarded that the vote should be visible so as to demonstrate that the representative is truly voting in the manner expected by those who they represent. Also closely related to secret ballot is compulsory voting so that individuals cannot be intimidated into not voting - for instance cultural groups who may wish to deny women the vote by intimidating women to stay away from the voting booths. Compulsory voting has been readily accepted by all but a few Australians who want all of the benefits of a democracy without any of the responsibilities. Australia has been a pioneer in both the the areas of secret ballot and compulsory attendance for voting.)

Australia has been one of the pioneers of democratic rights. Although Australia was not the first country to have votes for women, it was amongst the first (see this table from the Australian Federal Government web site) and certainly the first to grant women both the right to vote AND the right to sit (first at colony level in South Australia in 1894 then at national level in 1902). Votes for women were granted in South Australia in 1894, Western Australia in 1899, New South Wales in 1902 and Victoria in 1908.

The sustained establishment of the Eight Hour Day (or 48 hour working week) was finally achieved in Melbourne in 1856 by a group of skilled tradesmen and small business operators led by James Galloway and James Stephens. This movement was a precursor to the union movement and the condition were later to expand to include both skilled or unskilled employees. Although the 8 hour days had been temporarily achieved in both New Zealand and America at earlier times, they were not sustained, so the Australian movement was seen as a particularly significant since this is where it 'took root'. The 6 day working week was later reduced to 5½ and by the 1950s had mainly changed to a 5 day week and the standard working week for most employees had reduced to 40 hours.