When cringe was cool: sixty objects that shaped Australian history

The oversized woollen jumper featuring a koala hugging a gum tree was delivered by Kim Wran, daughter of then-NSW Premier Neville Wran, as just one of thousands of gifts for the princess when she married.

However, Princess Diana was so enamoured by it that when the royal couple visited Australia in 1983, she insisted on meeting Kee. The pair is understood to have enjoyed each other's company "famously", further entrenching the designer's bona fides on the global stage.

The story behind Kee's famous jumper and some of Australia's other cultural designs from the twentieth century are featured in comedian Tim Ross' new book, What a Ripper!.

The book, out in August, is told with Ross's trademark wit and directness, and is fascinating reading.

Ross told ACM, the publisher of this masthead, that the twentieth century was the 'golden era' of design and innovation.

"There was no cultural cringe," he said. "We weren't trying to be anything other than ourselves."

"Jenny Kee's jumper is a representation of that; having a koala could have been seen as a bit of naff, but we loved it."

Ross said Australia shifted from a nation of people who "invented and fixed things to a nation of people who prefer to buy things off the internet".

He believes design and innovation need to be "reignited or championed again" in Australia.

"That's the appeal of the book, it is a reminder of what we are capable of," he said. "Australian design and innovation used to be quite mainstream."

One of Ross' favourite designs featured in the book is the dolphin torch by Paul Cockburn.

For fourteen years, this Australian-designed torch was the highest-selling torch in the world.

It also serves as a reminder, Ross said, "of games of spotto with our siblings or traipsing the caravan-park toilet in the middle of the night".

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Ross grew up in Mount Eliza on Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula with a "strong interest" in Australian industrial design.

"I think because Inventors was on TV as a kid, I loved it and thought it was fascinating," he said.

As well as his comedy work, he is known for presenting ABC shows like Streets of Your Town and Designing a Legacy.

In 2018, he curated an exhibition that featured many of the products featured in the book for the Powerhouse Museum.

"I saw that people had an interesting connection to these objects," he said.

Of course, some of the designs have remained popular.

Speedos by Sydney-born designer Peter Travis broke new ground when they were released in 1961.

"Rather than high-waisted, as was the trend at the time, he cut them low to the hip and high to the thigh, creating an iconic look that left modesty in the sand."

Men on Bondi Beach were arrested and charged with indecent exposure at the time for wearing them, Ross said.

What a Ripper! by Tim Ross is out in August through Murdoch Press.