Corporate Body
Central Inventions Board [Department of Defence] (1940 - 1941)
Commonwealth of Australia
- From
- 1 September 1940
Victoria, Australia - To
- 6 November 1941
Victoria, Australia - Reference No
- CA 153
- Legal Status
- National Archives of Australia agency registration.
- Location
- Historical agency address c/- Department of Defence Co-ordination, Victoria Barracks, St Kilda Road, Melbourne
Summary
On 9 August 1940 the Chief of the General Staff, Sir Brudenall White wrote to the Defence Committee (CA 289) setting out the following recommendations for the consideration of the Defence Committee:
(a) That a Central Inventions Board be established to examine and report upon all inventions for Defence
purposes.
(b) That the present machinery for dealing with inventions at the headquarters of the three Services be absorbed
in the Central Board.
(c) That the Central Inventions Board should consist of representatives from:
(i) each of the three services
(ii) Department of Supply and Development [I] (CA 33)
(iii) Universities
(iv) Industrial organisations.
It appears that the new Army Inventions Directorate (CA 537), announced by the Minister for the Army on 29 January 1942, took on the functions, or some of the functions of, the Central Inventions Board.
Details
In accepting this recommendation the Defence Committee expressed the view that the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CA 2506) was the appropriate Commonwealth Scientific Authority for representation on a central inventions board and accordingly proposed that such representatives should replace those of universities and industrial organisations. At the same time the Defence Committee conceded that representatives from the latter would be co-opted when necessary.
The new Central Inventions Board replaced the Army Headquarters Inventions Board (CA 118) which had been in existence since 1932. The new Board also inherited responsibility for naval and airforce inventions work but further research is required to determine which agencies carried out these functions before September 1940.
The members of the Board were:
Engineer Rear-Admiral P.E. McNeil, (Department of the Navy)
Captain L.A.W. Spooner, (Director of Ordnance, Torpedoes and Mines)
Colonel G.P.W. Meredith, (Department of the Army)
Pilot Officer S.R. Bell, (Department of Air)
Sir George Julius, (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research)
On 6 November 1941 the Prime Minister, Mr Curtin, announced that as Sir David Rivett, Chief Executive Officer of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, and Sir George Julius, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research representative on the Board, did not favour its continuance, it was accordingly decided that the Central Inventions Board should be abolished.
Related entries
Timeline
1932 - 1940 Army Headquarters Inventions Board
1940 - 1941 Central Inventions Board [Department of Defence]
1942 - 1946 Army Inventions Directorate
Published resources
Books
- Mellor, D. P., The Role of Science and Industry, Australia in the War of 1939-1945, Volime 5 of Series 4 (Civil) (Canberra: Australian War Memorial, 1958). Details
Gavan McCarthy
Created: 12 September 2025