POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Automatic totalisator model designed by Sir George Alfred Julius

Object No. H5255

George Julius built this model to demonstrate how his totalisator system worked. Julius, an Australian inventor and entrepreneur, had previously designed a cheat-proof mechanical vote-counting machine, which was sold to the State of New York. No buyers were found in Australia, so Julius searched for new applications for his calculator. Julius had been made aware of the difficulties and errors encountered by manually recording and calculating multiple bets and odds at racecourses, and saw how his vote-counting machine could be adapted to employ a precise, rapid, multi-user system which would eliminate the issues of manual on-course tote-betting. The first full scale mechanical totalisator was installed at Ellerslie racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1913. The tote was so large that it required a dedicated building to house it. This was the first automatic totalisator and replaced the fraught, labour intensive manual system. George Julius, born in Norwich, England in April 1873, immigrated with his family to South Australia 1884. They relocated to New Zealand five years later where Julius began a degree in engineering at the University of New Zealand. In 1896 Julius travelled to Western Australia to take up a role with the Government Railways. In his spare time, Julius designed and made his vote-counting machine, an Australian innovation, which was later adapted to become the totalisator. Tote-betting, developed by Joseph Oller in France in 1867, became very popular at racecourses in Australia and New Zealand as it offered a further dimension of natural odds to that of fixed-odds betting. In tote-betting the odds are not known until betting has closed, usually when the race starts. All the stakes are totalled and a house percentage removed. The remaining sum in the pool is then split between the winning tickets. The dividend pays less on the most popular horses as they attract the best odds of a win; however, if an outsider wins the race then the dividend paid is larger as there were fewer people backing that horse. Punters also preferred tote-betting as the odds were not set by the bookmaker - removing the perception that a bookie could manipulate a higher percentage for himself. There were inherent errors due to the human element purveying tote-betting, and although he was not the first to try and remedy this, George Julius' mechanical tote was the first successful design to be used by racecourses. George Julius founded a company, Automatic Totalisators Limited (ATL) in Australia in 1917, and it dominated the design and supply of racecourse betting equipment throughout the world. By 1936, ATL had automatic totalisators at 36 racecourses around the world. Julius became the first chairman of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (now the CSIRO) in 1926. In recognition of his remarkable technological achievements and service to the country Julius was knighted in 1929 and held many prestigious appointments on a number of company and charitable boards. He died in Sydney in 1946. This model was donated to the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in 1953 by Automatic Totalisators Limited. Damian McDonald Curator December 2014

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Summary

Object Statement

Automatic totalisator model, brass / metal / glass / timber / rubber, designed by Sir George Alfred Julius, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1907-1913

Physical Description

A scale working model of an automatic totalisator, a machine to record bets and calculate the changing odds and dividends at the racecourse. The machine consists of an electrically powered internal mechanism made mainly of brass, and is housed in a redwood and glass case constructed in removable sections to allow access to the interior. The machine runs on a 240 volt D.C electric motor which drives a number of gear shafts. There are four mechanical brass keyboards to record bets. Two keyboards record of 20 shilling bets while the remaining two record and 10 shilling and 5 pounds bets. There is also provision for two remote electric keyboards. Above the two 20 shilling keyboards at the front of the machine are a series of 6 counters, set in two rows of three. The counters indicate investment totals. Above the two rows of counters is another larger counter which gives the grand total of bet investments in half sovereigns. Accompanying the machine are three additional keyboards and three wooden drawers or portions of drawers and a wooden pedestal.

DIMENSIONS

Height

815 mm

Width

675 mm

Depth

620 mm

PRODUCTION

Notes

George Alfred Julius designed the automatic totalisator in Sydney, New South Wales between 1907 and 1913. Patents taken out by Julius: 15353/09 15354/09 15133/14 16585/15 4055/17 6881/18 7284/18 10344/19 11394/19 3908/20 23452/25 2570/26 4790/26 3584/31 3585/31 3586/31 3587/31 1658/40

SOURCE

Credit Line

Gift of Automatic Totalisators Limited, 1953

Acquisition Date

14 December 1953

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