Charles Henry Malpas (28 April 1899 – 1 January 1982) was an Australian inventor and businessman. Malpas was born at Leicester in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to toolmaker Charles Edward Malpas and Florence, ''née'' Merry. He served in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

from April 1918 to February 1919. He married clerk Elsie Moore at Sutton Coldfield on 31 July 1920, and the couple moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in March 1921. After the death of a daughter in 1924, Elsie returned to England and the two were divorced in 1935. Malpas remarried Betty Meryl Cutler at Geelong on 14 September 1935. He had founded an iron foundry and engineering workshop in 1933 which became known as Victorian Diemoulders Pty Ltd, and he served on Geelong City Council from 1944 to 1947 and from 1949 to 1956. Malpas' inventions included drum spouts, pourers for drinks and heating-oil gauges, although his most famous creation was the "Airlesflo" tap and seal for packaged liquids, which contributed to the development of wine casks for commercial sale. This was developed for

Penfolds Penfolds is an Australian wine producer that was founded in Adelaide in 1844 by Christopher Rawson Penfold, an English physician who emigrated to Australia, and his wife Mary Penfold. It is one of Australia's oldest wineries, and is currently p ...

' "Tablecask" in 1967, and Malpas designed several prototypes, which he patented. The rights to the Airlesflo tap were bought by Wynn Winegrowers in 1970 and became the standard for bulk wine packaging. In 1980 he was one of the first winners of the

Advance Australia Award The Advance Australia Foundation (AAF) was established in 1980. The AAF recognised "individuals or groups who have made outstanding contributions to the growth and enhancement of Australia, the Australian people and the Australian way of life". I ...

. He retired in 1978 and died in 1982 at

Leopold, Victoria Leopold is a residential eastern suburb of Geelong and is a gateway to the Bellarine Peninsula. At the 2016 census, Leopold had a population of 12,814. History The area was formerly known as Kensington, but was renamed in 1892 after Prince Leop ...

, survived by his wife, their daughter and two sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malpas, Charles 1899 births 1982 deaths 20th-century Australian inventors British emigrants to Australia People from Geelong