Page 151 - Demo

149These were the days when people were piggybacking double adapters, so Peter%u2019s idea of a four-way power board was revolutionary. Every day, all over the world, people load multiple electric plugs into power boards, often unaware that one of the most used items in the world is an Australian invention.It all goes back to 1964, when electronics pioneer and inventor Frank Bannigan started a small electrical company in his garage. He named it after his street, Kambrook, and began making appliances. In 1972, Peter Talbot, an electrical engineer working for Bannigan, became frustrated with the lack of power points in his caravan.These were the days when people were piggybacking double adapters, so Peter%u2019s idea of%u00a0 a four-way power board was revolutionary. Early models were practical but bulky, and it wasn%u2019t until 1979 that the version we recognise today emerged.Robert Pataki, a Hungarian-born industrial designer who arrived in Australia in the 1950s as a refugee, was engaged by Bannigan to update the power board, making it more consumer-friendly. The model they delivered, the PB1, was a sleek unit with three power sockets. To give you an idea of just how new the concept was, %u2018power board%u2019 was written on the unit.Kambrook advertised them heavily, including running a major promotion with%u00a0 Young Talent Time, one of the biggest TV shows of the day. With a young Tina Arena and an even younger Dannii Minogue helping to promote this and other Kambrook innovations, the power board became an instant success. It now seems unfathomable that such a simple idea took so long to emerge.Worldwide success followed but, sadly for Frank, he didn%u2019t patent the design, and his power boards were widely copied until they became the generic units we have today.So the next time you load up a power board %u00a0 to%u00a0 the point of blowing a fuse, take a moment to%u00a0 appreciate this under-celebrated Australian innovation.YEAR 1979DESIGNER Robert Pataki DesignMANUFACTURER Kambrook