The push for smarter farming is at the core of Australia's tough agricultural history. Richard and Clarence Smith quarrelled over who was the true inventor, but their Stump Jump Plough improved the economic prospects of farmers working difficult terrain. Frederic Wolseley's Mechanical Shears eventually won over the shearers and transformed the wool industry. Lew Bandt designed the Ute for farmers needing a comfortable working vehicle, and Benjamin Dunkerley invented a fur-cutting machine that led to the iconic Akubra.

Food Preservation has been a major challenge throughout Australia's history. In Victoria James Harrison invented a process of refrigeration that could make Artificial Ice on a commercial scale. In New South Wales Thomas Mort and Eugene Nicolle adapted and improved on Harrison's technology to build the world's first freezer works to produce Artificially Frozen Food. In Western Australian Arthur McCormick came up with the Coolgardie food Safe that ran on evaporative cooling, and in South Australia Tom Angove invented the Wine Cask.