POP QUIZ: WHO is the man featured on the Australian $50 note? The answer, of course, is David Unaipon. But did you also know about Mr Unaipon’s incredible contribution to Australia’s fashion industry?

Born in 1872 at Point McLeay Mission in South Australia, David Ngunaitponi Unaipon was a Ngarrindjeri man: a preacher, author, orator, advocate and inventor. Among his many achievements was his design of a mechanical handpiece that revolutionised the Australian wool industry at a time when blade shears cut, on average, only thirty sheep per day. Speeding up the production process, Unaipon’s mechanical shears increased the daily tally to over three hundred sheep. His ingenuity propelled Australia to become the world’s largest wool exporter – today, our wool industry is estimated to be worth $2.73 billion.