Stevenson, Frank Arthur (b.1898 - d.1966)

Collection relating to the Second World War experience of Frank Arthur Stevenson, inventor, Bendigo, 1939-1946.

Collection consists for 275 documents relating to various inventions that Mr Stevenson made during the Second World War and submitted to the Army Inventions Directorate and private arms contractors. The collection consists largely of written letters between Mr Stevenson and various military-related bodies, as well as communication between members of the armed forces related to Mr Stevenson's inventions. Also within the collection are photographs, blueprints, rough sketches, letters to patent lawyers, patent submissions, and newspaper clippings relating both to new technology introduced during the Second World War and the suspicious death of his patent lawyer following a visit to Canberra. The invention that attracts the most interest in the collection is a flash and noise suppressing attachment designed for a machine gun. Much of the communication in the collection involves Mr Stevenson attempting to get his invention noticed and trialled within official channels, and his frustration with the lack of efficiency of the Army Inventions Directorate. Other inventions that are addressed in the collection are for an electronic tail light for vehicles powered without a battery, that gave only a small beam of light, sufficient for night convoys but unable to be seen from the air; a re-invented carbureting device for vehicles; a scalebuoy device (a quack medical device); and a petrol gun. Also in the collection are calls for ideas for inventions to relieve certain military issues, such as providing a replacement for rubber tyres, and Mr Stevenson's correspondence with ideas for solutions. Also included are other various records of communications between Mr Stevenson and others of various military positions on a broad range of other topics, most notably the legal possession of firearms by civilians.