Celebrating Australian Inventions with Bright Ideas

Australians have developed some nifty inventions over the years, some of which have been adopted across the world. Celebrating our innovation and creativity, Bright Ideas features five of Australia’s best-known inventions. Released in partnership with newsXpress, the collection includes the stump jump plough, jaffle maker, black box flight recorder, baby safety capsule and WLAN technology.

Designs & Collection

The five-coin set includes a collections folder and coin tube, with five $1 coins featuring an invention on each: the stump jump plough, jaffle maker, black box flight recorder, baby safety capsule and Wireless LAN technology. The folder includes a space for the $2 till coin released via newsXpress. 

Each collection has a 1-in-10 chance of finding a coloured edition of the $1 black box flight recorder coin.

The seven-coin set includes six $1 and one $2 coins in the collection, with each coin featuring a light bulb privy mark. The six $1 coins each include an invention: the stump jump plough, jaffle maker, black box flight recorder (coloured and uncoloured versions), baby safety capsule and Wireless LAN technology. The $2 coin showcases all inventions surrounding a lightbulb with Australia in it, and ‘Australian Inventions’ text.

Presented in a keepsake box with magnetic closure, it has seven card slots for your collection to fit neatly inside. 

Finally, there is a proof $2 coin that includes all Bright Ideas inventions on the one coin. The coin illustrates the five inventions surrounding a lightbulb with Australia inside and the text ‘Australian Inventions’.

Check Your Change

Check your change: a $2 till coin has been released into circulation, celebrating Australian Bright Ideas. Head to your local participating newsXpress location for your chance to find this special $2 coin in your change.

Featured Australian Inventions in the Collection

Baby Safety Capsule

Paving the way in safe baby transportation was the Safe-n-Sound Baby Safety Capsule invented by Adelaide duo Bill Bowtell and Bob Heath of Rainsfords (now Britax) and Colin Nagel. Seatbelts became compulsory in the 1970s, however protection, for perhaps our most vulnerable passengers, took a little longer. Now, millions of infants across Australia, and the world, have safer journeys thanks to this essential invention.

Black Box Flight Recorder

A monumental step in increasing aviation safety around the world is attributed to Australia’s Defence Scientist, Dr David Warren, who invented the black box flight recorder in 1953 while working for the Aeronautical Research Laboratories, now part of today’s Defence Science and Technology Group. Referred to simply as the ‘black box,’ this invention records voices and data from cockpits, and being near-indestructible helps investigators determine activity prior to a plane crash. Ironically, it isn’t black in colour at all, but usually a bright colour to assist retrieval.

Jaffle Maker

Elevating simple ingredients into a golden toasted delight, the humble jaffle maker holds a special place in countless kitchens. First invented by Dr Ernest Smithers in 1949 to toast bread and melt the filling over fire, it was reimagined by Breville in 1974 with its electric Snack ’n’ Sandwich Toaster. So iconic that “Breville” became synonymous with jaffle and an invention that continues to satisfy hungry Australians today.

Stump Jump Plough

Necessity is the mother of invention and perhaps this is no truer than with the invention of the stump jump plough by South Australian Richard Smith, with the “Vixen” design being patented in 1876. This vital piece of farming equipment, which made ploughing farmland much faster and efficient by essentially ‘jumping’ mallee stumps that remained in the ground, was eagerly adopted worldwide.

High-Speed Wireless

Many of us enjoy the convenience of a wireless local area network (WLAN) without giving much thought to where it came from. Developed in the 1990s by Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, high-speed Wireless LAN technology grew out of pioneering radioastronomy research and allows devices to communicate without being connected by cables. This coin is a nod to yet another Aussie invention relied upon every day.

Availability

From Thursday 8 October 2026 08:30am (AEDT):

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