Packer whacker

English

Etymology

The name came about when Kerry Packer, a wealthy Australian media mogul, was resuscitated with a defibrillator in 1990 in Sydney after suffering a heart attack.After recovering, Packer donated a large sum to the New South Wales Ambulance Service in order to fit all of its ambulances with portable defibrillators.

Pronunciation

Audio (AU) (file)

Noun

Packer whacker (plural Packer whackers)

(Australia, colloquial, informal) A portable defibrillator.
- 2006, Taking heart, The Bulletin, Issues 6502-6509, page not known,
  Every NSW ambulance now carries the ultimate heart-starter, the Packer Whacker, thanks to a polo field drama and one man′s generosity.
- 2006, Australian House of Representatives, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard): House of Representatives‎, volume 279, page 131:
  It was no wonder the shipping insustry in Australia was flatlining under the Labor Party. You could not resuscitate the Australian shipping industry with a Packer whacker under Labor.
- 2009, Paul Barry, Who Wants to Be a Billionaire?: The James Packer Story, Easyread Super Large 20pt Edition, page 285,
  On this occasion, however, it was not his portable ‘Packer whacker’, but a device the size of a matchbox implanted in his chest.

References

(etymology) Australian Broadacsting Corporation, Great Moments in Science, Flatline & Defibrillator, Part 2, 2005