Stobie pole

A Stobie pole is a power line pole made of two steel joists held apart by a slab of concrete in the middle. It was invented by Adelaide Electricity Supply Company design engineer, James Cyril Stobie (1895-1953). He used the materials easily at hand due to the shortage of timber caused by the arid and treeless nature of much of South Australia. His invention of two spare pieces of railway track bolted together with cement in the middle was patented in 1924.

Stobie poles beside the Flinders Highway, South Australia