Poolette
About This Machine
Poolette, manufactured in 1933 by the Australian Poolette Company, holds a notable place in pinball history: according to Pinball Snapshots, it is the first known pinball game manufactured in Australia. It is a pure mechanical (PM) machine, predating both the electrification of pinball and the invention of the flipper, which would not appear until 1947.
As a pure mechanical game, Poolette's play would have relied on manually operated plungers, tilting mechanisms, or gravity-driven ball paths rather than flippers or bumpers, in keeping with pinball design conventions of the early 1930s.
Beyond its historical distinction as Australia's first pinball machine, little further documentation survives about Poolette's designer, artwork, or specific gameplay rules, but its early date and country of origin make it a significant artifact for collectors interested in the global spread of pinball.