Hello ODK members,

Arthur E Bishop (1917-2006) has been described as Australia's Leonardo da Vinci, an inventor
so prolific that he held more than 300 patents in 17 countries at the time of his death.
Do you know of him? I hadn't until a few old advertisements led me on a trail of intrigue and fascination.

In this series of posts I would like to gives readers a glimpse of the man, and then explore a
unique mower he invented in the 1950s. To my surprise, there was even a Victa connection!

Most Famous Invention:-
Drive.com.au placed one of Bishop's inventions within the Top Five of all Australian motoring inventions.
It sits alongside the Ute, the Race Cam, the Baby Safe Capsule and the Panel Van. What is it?

Why it's variable ratio steering, said to be fitted to a fifth of all the world's production cars.
See D*Hub and Powerhouse. For a copy of the US patent see US 3753378 A

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AVIATION
A discussion of Arthur Bishop would never be complete without reference to his contribution to aviation.
He worked for the Department of Aircraft Production during World War II and developed landing gear steering
and 'shimmy' control of military aircraft.

Working on the manufacture of Beaufort bombers and Beaufighters he solved a serious problem:
too much vibration in steering on take-off (or on landing) was destroying aeroplane undercarriages.

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POST WAR
After the War, Bishop and two associates formed a small company - LBL Products. 'LBL' stood for
the three owners - Harry Lever, Arthur Bishop and John Longhurst. Here they specialized in special purpose
machines for Australian industry. It was here that the LBL Master-Cut Mower was born.

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p.s. Arthur Bishop went on to become principal of A. E. Bishop and Associates, Sydney, now the Bishop Technology Group.
But that's another story.

Resources:
Australian Broadcasting Corporation, TV PROGRAM TRANSCRIPT, LOCATION: http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2002/s469910.htm, Broadcast: 30/01/2002

Driven by Ideas: The Story of Arthur Bishop. Claire Brown. University of NSW Press, 2003.

Inventor Driven to Keep Finding a Better Way. July 12, 2006. http://www.smh.com.au/news/obituari...better-way/2006/07/11/1152383739541.html