George Julius invented the world's first automatic totalisator and, through his relationship with Ernest Augustus Lee Steere - the engineer was the brother-in-law of the long-serving Chairman of the Western Australian Turf Club's wife - the organisation was an early adopter of the machine.
George Julius invented the world's first automatic totalisator and, through his relationship with Ernest Augustus Lee Steere - the engineer was the brother-in-law of the long-serving Chairman of the Western Australian Turf Club's wife - the organisation was an early adopter of the machine.
Born in the United Kingdom in 1873, Julius and his family migrated to Victoria in 1884 before moving to New Zealand in 1889. Julius graduated from Christchurch College and, in 1896, accepted a job with WA Government Railways. In his spare time, Julius built an automatic totalisator prototype. Originally conceived as a vote-counting machine, Julius adapted it as a betting device after officials ruled out using it in elections. In 1929, Julius was knighted for his service to the CSIRO and he died in 1946.