James Harrison invented Australia's first ice-making machine, but is now forgotten (well not quite).

There's not much to see — a tangle of scrub at the base of a rock-strewn slope — but Rocky Point in Geelong is a site of world significance.

There was once a cave here, filled in long ago by authorities who deemed it unsafe, and a large shed that drew in water from the Barwon River and converted it into ice.

A modest plaque on a boulder scarcely does justice to its importance.

It was here in 1854 that inventor, journalist, and newspaper proprietor James Harrison had his eureka moment — successfully trapping escaping gas and using it as a refrigerant.

Harrison used a compressor to force the gas to pass through a condenser, where it cooled down and liquefied.

It was the basis of refrigeration — the same principle used to this day in refrigerators and air conditioners around the world.

Refrigeration profoundly changed the world, so why isn't James Harrison a household name?...

It's time now for another ice cold beer from the fridge. ;-)

Cheers.[/url]