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 (General Australian): (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^[1], 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