Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a serious shock.

a.1877		J. Read [perf. J. Read] ‘All for Her’ 🎵 So I'm waiting with a kiss and some loving words like this (produces large bludgeon) / All for her - the paralizer - all for her!
1889		Music Hall & Theatre Rev. 4 May 188/2: The result of the Two Thousand [Guineas] was simply a paralyser.

2. (Aus.) a strong drink.

1914

Bulletin (Sydney) 1 Oct. 43/2: [I]n the glorious days of lambing down, when Jerry was younger and grew fat and independent, he dispensed some astonishing mixtures – known as tanglefoot, snake-juice, paralysers, double-distilled lightning, mulga rum and blue-murder rousers.