August 4, 2025 • 8 mins
Our friend Tom Ross joins Jonesy & Amanda for an incredible chat about his new book, What a Ripper!: 60 everyday objects that shaped Australia.
He also gives Jonesy & Amanda a beautiful message about their departure from breakfast radio.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
My Heart podcasts here, more Gold one on one point
seven podcasts.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Playlists and listen live on the Free iHeart app and
Amanda jam Nation.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
The next guest is an architecture of Shionado, a comic,
an extraordinary man. We love him Tim Ross. He's got
a new book called What a Ripper. We've been looking
at it all morning. We just love it. A nostalgic
look at Australian designs and products from the sixties. Hello
Tim period, Hey, how are we What have we bought
with you for Show and Tell?
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Well, I've thought that it is show and tell. It's
the decoy wine. Cool. So you talk about the things
that are Astralian and your producers out the front they
are all going mad over it because they all remember
them when they were kids.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Is this an Australian design?
Speaker 3 (00:53):
I never knew it? So what would happened? You know?
You go after the Chinese restaurant, yep, and you put
your two bottles of reaseling in either side, Yes, and
then you put it on the table and then you
leave it there to drive home drunk and then have
to buy another one.
Speaker 5 (01:06):
There was a time where you were seeing those out
on junk poles, but not any.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
It's very collectible. But what made them so special is
they had a little cylinder in the middle that you
fill up with water, put it in the freezer and
that keeps your drinks. Really cool man. But the wonderful
thing about it was that super nice design. But it
won the Prince Philip Design Award in nineteen seventy nine.
Prince Philip liked it so much he took one home
to Buckingham Palace and it's also in the Museum of
(01:31):
Modern Arts permanent collection.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Yeah, it's a piece of Strangers.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
On I was reading and how does this happen?
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Wasn't it?
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Was it true that the Queen was involved in the
invention of air regard or something?
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Yeah, So what happened with a regard was that before
World War Two there was this gentleman at the CSIRO
who was making it like a fly repellent for sheep.
And then World War two broke out and they needed
something for the troops, and so he adapted it to
be like what was air reguard. And then as soon
as the war was over, they just went, oh, let's
go back to looking after sheep. So he went back
working out it to stop them from getting sheep dip
(02:03):
or whatever it is or whatever fly Blaine. And then
when the Queen came out on the tour in the
nineteen fifties, they're worried about her doing this a strained
salute on television. So someone said, rang up the CSIRO
and said, if you still got that muk that keeps
the flies away. They gave it to the queen. She
used it. Someone noticed on TV that she wasn't shewing
them away. So Marteene rang up the CSI roh because
(02:27):
there was a big news story. Rang up the CSIRO
and said, what's this formula? And in those days you
were csiro. If you rang up, they would give you whatever,
whatever reason. So they just gave it to Martine and
they created very ga who got it for nothing? Wow. Yeah,
have a good weekends.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
In that book, it's so nostalgic. It's the sharp, the
Wilshaar knife and sharp curious.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
What we're doing renovations on the kitchen. There's a woolshare
stay sharp knife.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Block attached to the don't I don't reckon?
Speaker 2 (02:59):
They worked no knife in them and the young trade.
He was just demolished in the kitchen I went what.
He goes, what even is this thing? And I said,
you put a knife in it?
Speaker 5 (03:08):
And he said, wow, that must have been fun in
the olden days. So I've got it.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
I've put it in my garage now because it's exactly
like the ones on the cover of your book.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
And also there's the cafe bar. Didn't know that was
an Australian invention. I was with beyond two thousand. I
was at the Jet Propulsion Lab doing a story on
the future of space exploration and they're using a cafe
bar and the powdered milk.
Speaker 4 (03:28):
I love a cafe bar. Now.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Well, going down to your local Tai Power most of
them still got one in there, but they call them
like cockroach coffins. The cockroaches used to get in the back.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
I mean it's really just a fancy and they came
in all these wonderful colors. Yeah, and people love them.
And right at the end they were making them and
they were updating them, updating, and the guys who designed
it said to cafe bar, so we've got this idea,
which was a bit like an espresso yep. And they
didn't commit. They stayed with the.
Speaker 4 (03:58):
I bet their grandkids are kicking themselves.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
And would have been them.
Speaker 5 (04:01):
The Corona bathroom stool.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Yeah, well this is a great, great invention because they
were originally for, you know, to put in your bar room.
And then in the late nineteen seventies those tabletop arcades
like Space Invaders and Frogger came in and so they
were adapted and everyone sat on those to play the machines.
Speaker 4 (04:19):
What would you use in your bathroom to do your
makeup or something.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
I put a towel on or something. I don't know,
I actually really don't know.
Speaker 5 (04:25):
You can assemble it because it came in two bits
bits and.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
You could take the top off like a frisbee. But
also in those days.
Speaker 5 (04:30):
You could put stuff inside it.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Yes, you put you're talking about when they put putting
carpet in bathrooms in the nineteen seventies. So it was
it was very much heightened. It was all those oranges
and browns and yellow.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Yes, and all the TV ads and shows women sat
down in front of a mirror to put their makeup on.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
You.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
So you probably need when you say stool in a
bathroom out doing something a little different.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
I mean you think about it's a long time ago
and at a different time you were talking about Robert
Irwin doing this tourism Astralia thing, and you know Hoagues.
When Hoages did that campaign, everyone was skeptical that it
was going to work. You know, Hoags was a big start.
But you got to think about about seven or eight
years before that campaign, he was involved in one of
the most successful television campaigns of all time to launch
(05:14):
one of the most successful products of all times, a
cigarette called Winfield. Yeah, that's right, and those they came.
That cigarette came out of nowhere and it was so
successful stro straight away because Hoages had sold it to
people that you know when you read Redfield, remember straordinary campaign.
And they sent because at that stage Camel were the
biggest cigarettes anywhere in the world. The Americans couldn't work
(05:35):
out why Camel had disappeared. You know, what's this cigarette brand?
So they sent someone out first class to work out
what it was like. Oh, it's this guy called PORL Hogan.
So if you could sell a Smokes, he could sell
sell Australia to the world.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
I remember going a school discursion to two sm and
Paul Hogan was there doing ads for Winfield, and I
saw him and I said, get a mister Hogan. My
dad smokes Dune Hill and he ruffled my hair and
he said, good on your spider.
Speaker 4 (06:00):
And that's your nickname, spider.
Speaker 5 (06:03):
When back in those days you can get a spider.
What are you doing now?
Speaker 4 (06:05):
Also, and you were on a rock station. Rock spider
doesn't sound so cool.
Speaker 5 (06:09):
But that's it's interesting.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
He came on a show I was doing it nine
ones and it was no I remember him just having
like this, like twenty eight inch waist, tiny tiny guy,
and he was in the green room and just lit
up a smoke, open up the window. It's like, all right,
I'm not going to say you.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
Waste like that.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Man. This is this is the greatest book ever, just
out time for Father's Day and Christmas and the already
dolphin torch, that lantern when the dolphin and it get
flicked around in the face.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Every picture, every item is a kick in the heart,
isn't it. It is a visceral memory from your childhood.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Can I say something? I'm sure the answer is yes,
because I could be flogging my book. But I did
want I did want to say that as a as
a friend, as a colleague. Here we go and someone
who was once a competitor with you guys. I've been
thinking a lot today about your legacy is as a
breakfast show. Sure, while I was driving and listening to it,
Tim No, and I was I think it's really important
(07:13):
that I think you understand, you've understood what the privilege
of waking up with this city, and you've been incredibly
important to so many of us. And we're going to
love you on drive, but we're gonna we're gonna miss
you and breakfast and I just I think in terms
of it's it's well in terms of the history of
f M breakfast shows, I think you know you'll be
(07:34):
the most loved and that's the most important metric of Yeah,
And I think it's really I think it's really important
to say that because I think you guys are fantastic
And if there's a if there's one thing that sort
of sums up your relationship, and I think it's it
speaks a lot. And I don't think everyone will listen
to your show in the same way, but it's it's
the softness when you in the way that you say
(07:56):
each other's names. And I think there's something incredibly naful
you have.
Speaker 4 (08:02):
You know, We.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Thank you, Tim, and we've loved doing breakfast and we
could have. You know, we're not the sort of people
that want to smash up an alarm clock. We're not
those people. But we are excited about doing a drive show.
But we've built I hope, a great relationship with our
listeners for twenty years and we want everyone to come
with us to drive, to listen in the morning, short
(08:24):
and breakfast please but please come with us to drive
and thank you for your lovely words.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Thing.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
I think your treasures, your treasures.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Maybe we'll be in What a Ripper too, like Rip
Snorder seventy six, Amanda orright could have our bum cheek
with all the contents.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
You should do that. I like that record.
Speaker 4 (08:44):
Sitting a little low.
Speaker 5 (08:45):
It means a lot for you to say that things
it does.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
Thank you Tim.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Buy the book What a Ripper sixty Everyday Objects is
Shaped Australia by Tim Ross.
Speaker 5 (08:52):
Thank you, sir.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
Good on you guys.
My Heart podcasts here, more Gold one on one point
seven podcasts.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Playlists and listen live on the Free iHeart app and
Amanda jam Nation.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
The next guest is an architecture of Shionado, a comic,
an extraordinary man. We love him Tim Ross. He's got
a new book called What a Ripper. We've been looking
at it all morning. We just love it. A nostalgic
look at Australian designs and products from the sixties. Hello
Tim period, Hey, how are we What have we bought
with you for Show and Tell?
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Well, I've thought that it is show and tell. It's
the decoy wine. Cool. So you talk about the things
that are Astralian and your producers out the front they
are all going mad over it because they all remember
them when they were kids.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Is this an Australian design?
Speaker 3 (00:53):
I never knew it? So what would happened? You know?
You go after the Chinese restaurant, yep, and you put
your two bottles of reaseling in either side, Yes, and
then you put it on the table and then you
leave it there to drive home drunk and then have
to buy another one.
Speaker 5 (01:06):
There was a time where you were seeing those out
on junk poles, but not any.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
It's very collectible. But what made them so special is
they had a little cylinder in the middle that you
fill up with water, put it in the freezer and
that keeps your drinks. Really cool man. But the wonderful
thing about it was that super nice design. But it
won the Prince Philip Design Award in nineteen seventy nine.
Prince Philip liked it so much he took one home
to Buckingham Palace and it's also in the Museum of
(01:31):
Modern Arts permanent collection.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Yeah, it's a piece of Strangers.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
On I was reading and how does this happen?
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Wasn't it?
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Was it true that the Queen was involved in the
invention of air regard or something?
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Yeah, So what happened with a regard was that before
World War Two there was this gentleman at the CSIRO
who was making it like a fly repellent for sheep.
And then World War two broke out and they needed
something for the troops, and so he adapted it to
be like what was air reguard. And then as soon
as the war was over, they just went, oh, let's
go back to looking after sheep. So he went back
working out it to stop them from getting sheep dip
(02:03):
or whatever it is or whatever fly Blaine. And then
when the Queen came out on the tour in the
nineteen fifties, they're worried about her doing this a strained
salute on television. So someone said, rang up the CSIRO
and said, if you still got that muk that keeps
the flies away. They gave it to the queen. She
used it. Someone noticed on TV that she wasn't shewing
them away. So Marteene rang up the CSI roh because
(02:27):
there was a big news story. Rang up the CSIRO
and said, what's this formula? And in those days you
were csiro. If you rang up, they would give you whatever,
whatever reason. So they just gave it to Martine and
they created very ga who got it for nothing? Wow. Yeah,
have a good weekends.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
In that book, it's so nostalgic. It's the sharp, the
Wilshaar knife and sharp curious.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
What we're doing renovations on the kitchen. There's a woolshare
stay sharp knife.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Block attached to the don't I don't reckon?
Speaker 2 (02:59):
They worked no knife in them and the young trade.
He was just demolished in the kitchen I went what.
He goes, what even is this thing? And I said,
you put a knife in it?
Speaker 5 (03:08):
And he said, wow, that must have been fun in
the olden days. So I've got it.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
I've put it in my garage now because it's exactly
like the ones on the cover of your book.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
And also there's the cafe bar. Didn't know that was
an Australian invention. I was with beyond two thousand. I
was at the Jet Propulsion Lab doing a story on
the future of space exploration and they're using a cafe
bar and the powdered milk.
Speaker 4 (03:28):
I love a cafe bar. Now.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Well, going down to your local Tai Power most of
them still got one in there, but they call them
like cockroach coffins. The cockroaches used to get in the back.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
I mean it's really just a fancy and they came
in all these wonderful colors. Yeah, and people love them.
And right at the end they were making them and
they were updating them, updating, and the guys who designed
it said to cafe bar, so we've got this idea,
which was a bit like an espresso yep. And they
didn't commit. They stayed with the.
Speaker 4 (03:58):
I bet their grandkids are kicking themselves.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
And would have been them.
Speaker 5 (04:01):
The Corona bathroom stool.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Yeah, well this is a great, great invention because they
were originally for, you know, to put in your bar room.
And then in the late nineteen seventies those tabletop arcades
like Space Invaders and Frogger came in and so they
were adapted and everyone sat on those to play the machines.
Speaker 4 (04:19):
What would you use in your bathroom to do your
makeup or something.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
I put a towel on or something. I don't know,
I actually really don't know.
Speaker 5 (04:25):
You can assemble it because it came in two bits
bits and.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
You could take the top off like a frisbee. But
also in those days.
Speaker 5 (04:30):
You could put stuff inside it.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Yes, you put you're talking about when they put putting
carpet in bathrooms in the nineteen seventies. So it was
it was very much heightened. It was all those oranges
and browns and yellow.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Yes, and all the TV ads and shows women sat
down in front of a mirror to put their makeup on.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
You.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
So you probably need when you say stool in a
bathroom out doing something a little different.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
I mean you think about it's a long time ago
and at a different time you were talking about Robert
Irwin doing this tourism Astralia thing, and you know Hoagues.
When Hoages did that campaign, everyone was skeptical that it
was going to work. You know, Hoags was a big start.
But you got to think about about seven or eight
years before that campaign, he was involved in one of
the most successful television campaigns of all time to launch
(05:14):
one of the most successful products of all times, a
cigarette called Winfield. Yeah, that's right, and those they came.
That cigarette came out of nowhere and it was so
successful stro straight away because Hoages had sold it to
people that you know when you read Redfield, remember straordinary campaign.
And they sent because at that stage Camel were the
biggest cigarettes anywhere in the world. The Americans couldn't work
(05:35):
out why Camel had disappeared. You know, what's this cigarette brand?
So they sent someone out first class to work out
what it was like. Oh, it's this guy called PORL Hogan.
So if you could sell a Smokes, he could sell
sell Australia to the world.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
I remember going a school discursion to two sm and
Paul Hogan was there doing ads for Winfield, and I
saw him and I said, get a mister Hogan. My
dad smokes Dune Hill and he ruffled my hair and
he said, good on your spider.
Speaker 4 (06:00):
And that's your nickname, spider.
Speaker 5 (06:03):
When back in those days you can get a spider.
What are you doing now?
Speaker 4 (06:05):
Also, and you were on a rock station. Rock spider
doesn't sound so cool.
Speaker 5 (06:09):
But that's it's interesting.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
He came on a show I was doing it nine
ones and it was no I remember him just having
like this, like twenty eight inch waist, tiny tiny guy,
and he was in the green room and just lit
up a smoke, open up the window. It's like, all right,
I'm not going to say you.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
Waste like that.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Man. This is this is the greatest book ever, just
out time for Father's Day and Christmas and the already
dolphin torch, that lantern when the dolphin and it get
flicked around in the face.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Every picture, every item is a kick in the heart,
isn't it. It is a visceral memory from your childhood.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Can I say something? I'm sure the answer is yes,
because I could be flogging my book. But I did
want I did want to say that as a as
a friend, as a colleague. Here we go and someone
who was once a competitor with you guys. I've been
thinking a lot today about your legacy is as a
breakfast show. Sure, while I was driving and listening to it,
Tim No, and I was I think it's really important
(07:13):
that I think you understand, you've understood what the privilege
of waking up with this city, and you've been incredibly
important to so many of us. And we're going to
love you on drive, but we're gonna we're gonna miss
you and breakfast and I just I think in terms
of it's it's well in terms of the history of
f M breakfast shows, I think you know you'll be
(07:34):
the most loved and that's the most important metric of Yeah,
And I think it's really I think it's really important
to say that because I think you guys are fantastic
And if there's a if there's one thing that sort
of sums up your relationship, and I think it's it
speaks a lot. And I don't think everyone will listen
to your show in the same way, but it's it's
the softness when you in the way that you say
(07:56):
each other's names. And I think there's something incredibly naful
you have.
Speaker 4 (08:02):
You know, We.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Thank you, Tim, and we've loved doing breakfast and we
could have. You know, we're not the sort of people
that want to smash up an alarm clock. We're not
those people. But we are excited about doing a drive show.
But we've built I hope, a great relationship with our
listeners for twenty years and we want everyone to come
with us to drive, to listen in the morning, short
(08:24):
and breakfast please but please come with us to drive
and thank you for your lovely words.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Thing.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
I think your treasures, your treasures.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Maybe we'll be in What a Ripper too, like Rip
Snorder seventy six, Amanda orright could have our bum cheek
with all the contents.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
You should do that. I like that record.
Speaker 4 (08:44):
Sitting a little low.
Speaker 5 (08:45):
It means a lot for you to say that things
it does.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
Thank you Tim.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Buy the book What a Ripper sixty Everyday Objects is
Shaped Australia by Tim Ross.
Speaker 5 (08:52):
Thank you, sir.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
Good on you guys.
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