SYNOPSIS
This five part series takes us deep into the inner sanctum of the inventor – the shed. That private place where they find their inspiration - and most of the working parts - for their next creation. Whether it’s a revolutionary engine or a side burn stencil, it all starts in the shed.
The inventors are original thinkers that simply can’t get through the day without having a bright idea. Their sheds provide a sacred, private sanctuary where they can meditate on new and innovative ideas, hack into a piece of steel, study the inner workings of a redundant gadget or draw up plans for a new machine.
Many of the inventors beaver away for decades with limited success, others create something truly remarkable overnight and are in the process of commercialising their “baby”. Some pin all their hopes and money on tragic disasters, battling away against the odds.
Reflecting their world through an eclectic array of characters and stories that traverse the country, Inventions from the Shed takes a spanner to the odd-bod, freak and quirky inventor.
From the pure joy of seeing an idea come to life to the black humour of the fabulous failures, this journey into the driven and obsessive world of the backyard inventor ise.
INVENTIONS FROM THE SHED PREMIERED ON ABC IN 2005
In Depth.
Episode 1
Chero Barbi is a 92 year old inventor from the far north Queensland town of Babinda, the wettest town in Australia. The son of Italian immigrants, he was born in a grass hut on a Queensland sugar farm and has spent his entire life both farming and inventing machinery for the sugar industry. Despite the fact there is a “Barbi Scratcher” on practically every sugar farm in Qld, Chero has never managed to make any money. To top it all off, his latest invention has been ripped off by a local engineer who has duped Chero out of his royalties. This is a beautiful portrait of a man whose mind is still as quick as his wit.
“Shear Express” is the biggest change to the shearing industry in 150 years or it should have been. It’s a mobile automated shearing production line – a massive engineering undertaking which has shawn through millions of dollars of investment only to be thrown on the scrapheap of bright ideas.
Episode 2
The family that invents together, stays together. In a ramshackle workshop underneath his Adelaide home Peter Johannsen and his son Andrew fine-tune a space age Oyster sorting machine. Oysters are still sorted manually and the industry is crying out for a machine that can perform the mind - numbing task. A few cashed-up growers have advanced Peter some money to build a machine, based purely on some drawings, a good pitch - and blind faith.
After months of work, much trial and error and many dollars later, the father and son team are going to road test the prototype with the oyster growers. It’s a 1500km round trip from Adelaide to Streaky Bay and they’re barely got enough cash for petrol. At the end of the journey they’ve got an eager audience of growers keen to see what’s become of their investment. It’s make or break for the Oyster Sorter and the entire family is feeling the pressure.
Episode 3
In the dusty opal mining town of Coober Pedy, four unlikely housemates cohabit an underground dugout surrounded by half completed inventions, hybrid machinery and abandoned vehicles. Pommy John, Jurgen the German, Murray Joynt and Doug spend their days in the illusive pursuit of opal. Dominating the amazing landscape is Murray’s claim to fame – the centrifugal blower - a giant vacumn cleaner elevated on a twenty foot jib and driven by a huge V8 motor. It’s job is to suck up dirt, gravel and rock from a 40 foot hole in the ground. Jurgen has developed a series of high powered precision engineered drills and spends his time underground in one of the industry’s more dangerous occupations – pillar bashing. Meanwhile, Doug keeps the house tidy and tinkers away on his own follies.
This is a fascinating portrait of resourcefulness and ingenuity in a remote and inhospitable landscape.
Episode 4
Mike McCann is an entrepreneur and a self-confessed sucker for a good invention. He knows inventors all over the country and Bernie is one of his favourites. From his humble semi-detached unit in suburban Perth, Bernie tinkers away on his major discovery, a gizmo housed in a plastic cylinder the size of a coke can that changes the molecular structure of liquids that pass through it. Known as “the Hiskins Effect”, the device has excited academics, researchers and the business world with its potential to significantly reduce exhaust emissions.
Meanwhile in Melbourne, Mike has a stake in Ted Pritchard’s revolutionary steam engine. In the 1970’s Ted built a steam powered car that made headlines in Australia. When the US became interested, Ted and the humble Ford Falcon were flown to the States but no major investors came on board to take the project further. After years of trying to get interest in the engine, Ted abandoned the project on the verge of bankruptcy. Now, 30 years later, there’s renewed interest in the technology. With Mike’s help, Ted may yet live to see his dream come true.
Episode 5
Michael McCann is an entrepreneur with a passion for inventions. He knows inventors all across the country, and Bernie, a retired
radio engineer from Perth, is one of his favourites. From his
humble semi-detached unit in suburban Perth, Bernie tinkers
away on his major discovery; a gizmo housed in a plastic cylinder
the size of a coke can that changes the molecular structure of
liquids that pass through it. Known as “the Hiskins Effect”, the
device has excited academics, researchers and the business
world with its potential to significantly reduce exhaust emissions
and improve fuel efficiency.
Meanwhile in Melbourne, Mike has a stake in Ted Pritchard’s
revolutionary steam engine. In the 1970’s Ted built a steam-powered car that
made headlines in Australia. When the US became interested, Ted and the
humble Ford Falcon were flown to the States but no major investors came on
board to take the project further. After years of trying to get interest in the
engine and on the verge of bankruptcy, Ted sadly abandoned the project. 30
years later and with an oil crisis looming, there’s renewed interest in the
technology. With Mike’s help, Ted may yet live to see his dream come true.
