Read more
Technological Change is at the heart of much industrial and economic development, but the conversion of scientific and technical research into economic success stories is not automatic. Australia has always imported overseas technology, largely out of necessity, but has this been exploitative, fostering a relationship of dependence, or used to Australia's advantage? This book explores such questions in the context of nineteenth-century Australian science. In her important study, Jan Todd argues that the situation was far more complex than has been widely acknowledged. In the context of on-going debates, she shows that technology systems reflect national characteristics, institutions and priorities, drawing general conclusions about Australian science and technology in an imperial context. Much of the book is devoted to two fascinating cases of technology transfer, that is, importing technology from one country to another. The first looks at the transfer of anthrax vaccination, a French innovation, into the pastoral industry, mainly in New South Wales. The second considers the transfer of the cyanide process of gold extraction, which originated in Britain, into the mining industry across Australia. In both cases, considering a range of economic, political and cultural factors, she traces a process of creative adaptation to these technologies.
List of contents
Part I. Overview: 1. Dependency at the periphery: debates and questions; 2. Cross-currents of change; Part II. Microbes, Rabbits and Sheep: 3. Microbes versus poisonous plants; 4. Contagion, conflict and compromise; 5. From Paris to Narrandera; 6. From foreign to domestic capability; Part III. Rocks, Cyanide and Gold: 7. Australian gold, British chemists; 8. Transfer agents and colonial connections; 9. A challenge for technological imperialists; 10. governments, experts and institutional adjustment; 11. From Glasgow to Kalgoorlie; 12. Out of the hands of 'rule-of-thumb' men; Part IV. Linkages, Learning and Sovereignty: 13. Transfer, diffusion and learning; 14. Colonial science: an intellectual bridge; 15. Toward an Australian system; Notes; Index.
Summary
This important study examines the transfer of technology to Australia in the nineteenth century, arguing that this was not a simple relationship of dependency. Using case studies, and considering a range of economic, political and cultural factors, Jan Todd traces a process of creative adaptation to these technologies.
