Australian Pinball: The Story About Hankin - Pinball Expo 2024 - Stephen Smith

TL;DR

Hankin Pinball: Australia's only pinball manufacturer, David Hankin's five 1978–80 games, and the first licensed Star Wars machine.

Summary

Key Claims

• David Hankin was the first and only pinball manufacturer in Australia, beginning in 1978 after being denied supply by Allied Leisure monopoly

  high confidence · Stephen Smith recounts Hankin's founding motivation and status as Australia's sole manufacturer

• Hankin produced exactly five pinball titles between 1978–1980 with approximately 1,300 total units

  high confidence · Smith states production run figures for each game: Orbit 1 (200), FJ Holden (200), Howzat (350), Shark, Empire Strikes Back (350)

• Empire Strikes Back was the first ever licensed Star Wars pinball machine, licensed directly by George Lucas

  high confidence · Smith cites George Lucas writing back to David Hankin and granting license for just one machine as payment; license notation visible on back glass

• David Hankin contacted George Lucas personally to secure the Star Wars license; Lucas agreed and requested only one Hankin machine in return

  high confidence · Smith describes Lucas's personal response and minimal licensing fee arrangement

• Mark Hamill came to Australia and approved the final design of the Empire Strikes Back pinball machine

  medium confidence · Smith mentions Mark Hamill's involvement but does not provide documentation or dates

• Empire Strikes Back was released in late 1980, after Space Invaders (spring 1980) and contemporaneous with Firepower

  medium confidence · Audience member questions timing; Smith confirms late 1980 release and notes similarities with Firepower/Space Invaders were discussed collegially with designers

• Hankin machines were not distributed overseas at the time; very few left Australia initially

  high confidence · Smith explicitly states machines were for Australian sale only, explaining scarcity outside Australia

• An estimated 40–50 Empire Strikes Back machines remain in the world; Smith knows of 12 owners who have contacted him

  medium confidence · Smith's field outreach and personal estimates, corroborated by Australian Pinball Museum representative

Notable Quotes

• “David who ran amusement centres and had their pinballs in his amusement centres, he wanted to buy the pinballs so rather than giving all the profits back to Leisure and Allied he wanted to have them themselves. They wouldn't sell him pinballs because they had the monopoly... So David in 1978 decided well if I can't buy them I'll make [them].”

  Stephen Smith@ 4:58 — Explains the founding motivation and competitive pressure that led David Hankin to become Australia's sole pinball manufacturer

• “What David did he just wrote to George Lucas personally and said hey George my name's David Hankin and i'd love to make a star wars pinball and George Lucas wrote back and said yeah good idea... George Lucas said oh no we won't have it like you can just have it because have it as long as i get one of the pinballs.”

  Stephen Smith@ 12:16 — Reveals the remarkable licensing arrangement for the first Star Wars pinball, secured through direct personal outreach rather than corporate negotiation

• “So Mark Hamill came over to Australia and actually helped with the final design, approved the final design. So it was a very, very Star Wars orientated machine.”

  Stephen Smith@ 13:24 — Demonstrates high-level celebrity involvement in the game's design and approval process

• “It was absolutely terrible. So nobody, so I couldn't, a lot of people were import machines to Australia, not many export pinballs. Well, nobody really, actually. Everybody I rang said, well, we've never done one. We don't want to do it.”

  Stephen Smith@ 19:29 — Illustrates the logistical and operational challenges of exporting pinball machines internationally, with shipping costs tripling the original quote

• “We've got new glass-pounding coated eggs. When people think about Hankin, they think, oh, it's just an Australian machine. It's probably very hard to keep going. It's not. Mike from Homepin was good friends with David, so he actually now reproduces the boards and the coils and everything else.”

Entities

Signals

• ?

  business_signal: Allied Leisure's monopoly on pinball imports into Australia denied direct sales to Hankin, forcing him to manufacture instead; this competitive exclusion became founding catalyst for Australia's only domestic pinball manufacturer

  high · Smith explains Hankin's motivation: 'if I can't buy them, I'll make them' response to monopoly refusal

• ?

  event_signal: Stephen Smith conducted extensive community outreach across Australia collecting Hankin machines and documenting oral histories; fielded survey to locate surviving Empire Strikes Back units, identifying 12 owners and estimating 40–50 total survivors

  high · Smith describes driving 3,500 miles collecting five machines and meeting owners; survey results cross-verified with Australian Pinball Museum

• ?

  community_signal: David Hankin remains active in Australian pinball community 50+ years after founding company; strong personal relationships with manufacturers (Gary Stern, Mike HomePin) and ongoing support infrastructure

  high · Smith's repeated meetings with Hankin; HomePin partnership for board/coil reproduction; Australian technicians available for repairs

• ?

  design_philosophy: Hankin designs show rapid learning and improvement across five-game catalog (1978–1980); design philosophy emphasized incorporating local cultural themes (FJ Holden car, Dennis Lillie cricket, Australian sharks)

  high · Smith ranks games by playability and notes dramatic improvement over two years; each game reflects Australian cultural touchstones

• $

  market_signal: Hankin Pinball correcting historical record: Empire Strikes Back recognition as first licensed Star Wars pinball was unknown/disputed until Smith's recent research and articles; initial skepticism from US collectors who believed it was bootleg