Bedtime for the old No 8 wire romance

Everyone, down your tools. The quintessentially-Kiwi pastime of inventing things with No 8 wire and a piece of four-by-two is no more than a "little romance" that needs to be put to bed, says Finance Minister Michael Cullen.

Dr Cullen told the Mathematics in Industry Study Group in Albany yesterday that to create a vibrant knowledge economy, New Zealand needed a "more disciplined approach".

That meant making strategic choices and building on this country's competitive advantages and creating strong niche industries.

"Inevitably this means change. One thing that has to go is the cherished myth of the amateur, the individual who retreats to the garden shed, constructs an unlikely piece of sophisticated equipment and produces something world-beating.

"It is time we put this little romance to bed."

Not so, says Jim Hopkins, a champion for inventors and author of bestseller Blokes and Sheds.

"It isn't time, because in one form or another that is the seed of all inventions. It may not be a shed ... but it is one person with an idea pursued by them ... and ultimately sustained and supported by others who see the potential and value."

New Zealand has had its share of backyard inventors.

Sir William Hamilton invented the jetboat engine in the 1950s to get upstream in shallow waters.

In 1956, Timaru's Colin Murdoch wanted an easier way to vaccinate his farm animals, so he invented the disposable syringe.

Wellington's Robert Dickie introduced the stamp vending machine to the world, and Hamilton's Bill Gallagher invented the electric fence. 

Dr Cullen wants New Zealand's reputation as "a nation of innovators" to thrive and prosper, but he told the mathematics symposium there needed to be a focused approach on how that happened.

He said the $212 million investment in research over the next four years would not be extended to backyard boffins.

"Innovation is not an art," he said. "It is a set of disciplines that can be learned, practised and taught."

Mr Hopkins does not agree.

"The problem is not so much with the inventors as with how they are handled and dealt with by industry and bureaucracy.

"It doesn't matter if it's a shed or a crown enterprise computer laboratory," he said.

"Invention will always be an idea conceived by an individual and developed in the first instance by that person because of their passion and conviction that it works.

"And if you kill that idea you won't have anything left to develop."

The four-day symposium involves NZ and Australian companies solving problems using maths.

NZ inventors
Bill Gallagher: electric fence.
Sir William Hamilton: jet boat engine.
A. J. Hackett: bungy jumping.
Peter Witehira: the Powerbeat battery.