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95/131/1 Hypodermic syringe, disposable, opaque polyethylene / metal, designed by Harry Willis, made by Charles Rothauser, Industrial Products Limited, Australia, 1949. Click to enlarge.
  • Image 1 of 1, 95/131/1 Hypodermic syringe, disposable, opaque polyethylene / metal, designed by Harry Willis, made by Charles Rothauser, Industrial Products Limited, Australia, 1949. Click to enlarge

Disposable plastic syringe by Harry Whillis and Charles Rothauser

By 1949 penicillin injections were being used to treat most bacterial infections, but penicillin tended to clog up glass syringes and make them hard to clean. To solve the problem, Austrian immigrant, Charles Rothauser created the world's first plastic, disposable hypodermic syringe at his Adelaide factory.

He made the first syringes in polyethylene. However, because polyethylene softens with heat, the syringes had to be chemically sterilised prior to packaging, which made them expensive. In …

Summary

Object No.

95/131/1

Object Statement

Hypodermic syringe, disposable, opaque polyethylene / metal, designed by Harry Willis, made by Charles Rothauser, Industrial Products Limited, Australia, 1949

Physical Description

Hypodermic syringe, disposable, opaque polyethylene/metal, designed by Harry Willis, made by Charles Rothauser, Industrial Products Limited, Australia, 1949.

Opaque plastic syringe with plunger, needle & sheath for the needle.

Marks

Marked on finger rest "AUSTRALIAN PAT. APP./ 33393-50 & OTHERS"

Short URL

https://ma.as/142882

Dimensions

Height

140 mm

Width

20 mm

Depth

25 mm

Source

Credit Line

Gift of Charles Rothauser AO

Acquisition Date

11 May 1995

Cite this Object

Harvard

Disposable plastic syringe by Harry Whillis and Charles Rothauser 2022, Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, accessed 30 March 2023, <https://ma.as/142882>

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://ma.as/142882 |title=Disposable plastic syringe by Harry Whillis and Charles Rothauser |author=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences |access-date=30 March 2023 |publisher=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Australia}}

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