Article in Retirement News, August 1997 about housekeeping in the old days.retirement news

Women preserved fruits to make jams, jellies, marmalade, pickles by bottling and canning as part of their housework duties in the 1950's.The women whose husbands worked on the Kiewa Hydro Electric Scheme were not permitted to work for the State Electricity Commission of Victoria, the expectation at the time being to work at home as mothers and housewives. This book describes one of their 'duties'.Coloured paper cover showing, on the front, fruit and jars with oranges being cut and fruit cooking, on the back. The title is across the top in black and then red. The book contains 28 pages and consists of recipes with illustrations. preserving. bottling. canning. housework. women's work.

A typical long black crepe skirt worn by women in Moorabbin Shire c1910 whilst doing housework during spring and summerTypical day wear skirt worn by women in the early settler families of Moorabbin Shire c1910 The family of Nance Blackburn were early settlersA woman's full length black crepe skirt with side fasteners, pleats and side inserted pockets blackburn nance, early settlers, moorabbin, cheltenham, bentleigh clothing, dressmaking, moorabbin shire

Women preserved fruits to make jams, jellies, marmalade, pickles by bottling and canning as part of their housework duties. Recipes were published in Women's magazines such as 'Home Beautiful'.The women whose husbands worked on the Kiewa Hydro Electric Scheme were not permitted to work for the SECV, the expectation, at the time, being to work at home as mothers and housewives. This book describes one of their 'duties'.Printed 26 pages stapled together with 2 staples reinforced by machine stitching. The front cover is missing. The back cover has a coloured photo of a box of "Kornies" on it.The book consists of recipes and advertisements.preserves. jams. housekeeping. bottling. canning. women's work. women's magazines.

A typical long black crepe skirt worn by women in Moorabbin Shire c1910 whilst doing housework during spring and summer. The early settler women were skilled dressmakers and made the clothing for their familiesTypical day wear skirt worn by women in the early settler families of Moorabbin Shire c1910 The family of Nance Blackburn were early settlers. Lady's black long crepe skirt with drawstring waist and inserted side pockets blackburn nance, early settlers, moorabbin, cheltenham, bentleigh clothing, dressmaking, moorabbin shire

Washing daysWooden wash board with clear glass centre on wooden legs.washing, laundry, housework

Sabco was founded in 1892 in Adelaide. The original carpet sweeper was launched in 1956. Used by a resident of the Kiewa Valley to clean the floor quickly and quietly.Sabco carpet sweeper. Long slim handle that is attached to a steel frame enabling the handle to move forwards and backwards. there are bristles that rotate underneath a green and brown cover.Labels: Regal Self Adjusting. Sabco. Turn to Open.housework, quick cleanup, domestic work, sabco

A description of typical women's roles in 19th and 20th century families, and changes that have occurred since World War II.5 p text and photographswomen in australia, women's roles, home duties, housework

The Trade Mark "Preservene" was registered on 23 June 1914 and traded in that name until 1930 when Cussons Australia Pty Ltd incorporated the name and its products including the Preservene Cloudy Ammonia. The Preservene Company produced a book (19 pages) "The Presevene Method Of Housework" in 1911. This publication was not only a self promotion but also a useful tool for the rural household and commercial enterprises.This bottle is very significant as it details the type of household cleaning methods and products used in the early 1900's up until the mid 1900's, when greater product diversities became available for rural areas. This product was a general cleaning agent that could be used for a variety of household items. It was the one product that "fits all cleaning". This attitude by the manufacturer fits into the mores held by the populous not only in cities but especially in the rural sector. This was an era where the success of a product was measured by the degree of versatility that came with it. The war years, the great depression had a lingering affect upon those who lived through them not to "waste" money on a multitude of products if one product had multiple uses. This was more so in rural areas where semi remote locations (as the case of the Kiewa Valley in the early 1900's) did not have the market place choices of city dwellers.This oblong shaped brown stained bottle has a red,green and faded white label covering 90% of the bottle. The bottle has a screw on lid. The bottle has embossed at the top back "POISON NOT TO BE TAKEN"on front label starting from top down "POISONOUS" IN SMALLER LETTERS "NOT TO BE TAKEN", below in an eclipse red backed sphere "PRESERVENE CLOUDY AMMONIA" below this in smaller print "CONTENTS 15 1/2 ozs", "For Household & Laundry use " below this "Removing stains and clearing Silverware Jewellery Etc". On a slant with green lettering on off white background, "IMPORTANT NOTICE (underlined) NO TOIL PRESERVENE ONLY BOIL(underlined) SOAP". Below within a red dotted boundary "PRODUCED BY Preservene Pty. Ltd. Melbourne Victoria". Below this and in smaller print "This preparation contains not more than 10 percent and not less than 7 percent free ammonia" Both sides of the label detail manufacturers instructions for different applications.laundry cleaners, stain removers, preservene label

Elastoplast is the brand name for a type of bandage with an absorbent centre and sticky edges, also known in Australia as a Band-Aid. The inventor of the Band-Aid was Earle Dickson, a cotton buyer for the American company Johnson & Johnson. Dickson’s wife Josephine often acquired small injuries while doing housework, and Dickson tired of helping her dress wounds. He came up with the idea of sticking pieces of gauze a length of sticky tape so she could self-apply dressings. Johnson & Johnson began producing this type of dressing, branded as ‘Band-Aid’ in 1921. In 1928 Smith & Nephew of the UK began producing similar bandages branded as ‘Elastoplast’. This item is significant for its rarity due to age. It provides potential for interpretation as a part of Wodonga's social history.A red Elastoplast First Aid Dressings tin with hinged lid upon which manufacture information is printed.On lid of tin: "Plastic/Elastoplast/First Aid/Dressings"band-aid, elastoplast, medical history, bandages, medical, medicine

From 1934 until the 1960s Elsie Henderson worked at the Association for the Blind as a home visitor for women who were blind or vision impaired. Blind herself, Ms Henderson had 300 women on her visitation list and would visit three to four women daily. In the 1950s Elsie began to make visits to people who were blind or vision impaired in Geelong and surrounds, providing our first services in the region. During a visit Elsie would talk to her clients, offering her assistance and training in daily living skills whilst her guide would note conditions in the house and help with any necessary housework. Sadly Elsie passed away in 1976, but her contribution to people who are blind or vision impaired continues to be an inspiration for all. In this portrait, she wears a mid-blue jacket with a floral shirt, pearl necklace and her MBE attached to her jacket. This painting hung in the former Kooyong Day Centre until it was demolished in 1999.1 art original in frameelsie henderson, association for the blind

Melvin Newton Lovell was born in Allegheny, Venango county, Pennsylvania, on 31 August 1844, to Darius T. Lovell (1815-1855) and Susan B. (Conover) Lovell (1827-1883). When Melvin Lovell was a boy, the family removed to Kerrtown, a village located in the vicinity of Titusville, PA. There Melvin served an apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade, and his natural mechanical talent enabled him to become a skilled workman. He followed his trade during the major portion of his term of residence in Kerrtown. In 1861, at seventeen years of age, Melvin Lovell left his home and, without parental authority, and entered the Union army soon after the outbreak of the Civil war. In August 1862, he was enlisted as a private in the 127th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry and saw active service until receiving his discharge at the end of May 1863. In 1865 he took up his residence in Erie, where he worked at the carpenter's trade for several years thereafter. In 1869 Melvin Lovell invented and patented several useful articles for household use, and in that year he began the manufacturing of certain of these inventions, in partnership with Franklin Farrar Adams, another inventor. Among the principal products of the original factory were washing machines and step-ladders. In 1881 Lovell individually began manufacturing other of his patents, including spring beds, and from modest inception, his Lovell Manufacturing Company grew to be one of the largest industrial concerns of its kind in the country and was recognized as being the most extensive manufacture of clothes-wringers in the entire world. In connection with his manufacture of domestic items, Lovell established sales agencies for his products in all parts of the country, and these branches were known as the Lovell stores. These goods were sold on the instalment plan and after his business had already been established becoming a substantial concern Lovell invented and patented the famous wringer which bears his name under the “Anchor” brand, and in later years he confined his operations largely to the manufacture of this very superior household invention. Lovell was also one of the organizers and stockholders of the Combination Roll & Rubber Manufacturing Co, of New York, which was formed to manufacture his patents, with headquarters in New York and a factory at Bloomfield, New Jersey.A significant household item used in the process of washing clothes by a man who had started in 1869, as a young carpenter and later he became a successful businessman and manufacturer of household items. Lovell was granted numerous patents for various devices during his career including several patents for adding machines (cash registers). This item is now sought by collectors and is even rarer due to it's combination with a Lovell clothes wringer. Wooden wash trough with 2 troughs & attached a Lovell wringer (or mangle Anchor Brand) Hard to make out as worn off with useflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, wash trough, wringer, mangle, laundry, cleaning, washing, housework, domestic, melvin newton lovell, wooden was trough

Washing machine wood & metal with wringer or mangle. Painted rust and black [number not found]flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, washing machine, wringer, mangle, laundry, housework, domestic, cleaning

A mixer is a kitchen utensil which uses a gear-driven mechanism to rotate a set of beaters in a bowl containing the food to be prepared. It automates the repetitive tasks of stirring, whisking or beating. Mixers for the kitchen first came into use midway through the nineteenth century; the earliest were mechanical devices. The mixer with rotating parts was patented in 1856 by Ralph Collier a tinsmith in Baltimore, Maryland .This was followed by E.P. Griffith's whisk patented in England in 1857. A circular tin used for mixing batters. The 2 beaters are of wire, with metal gears, suspended from a metal strip that fits over the tin bowl. and is clamped into place by a metal screw . A crank handle with a wooden black knob attached by a screw is turned by hand to mix the batter in the base. This tin could be secured to a table by a clamp and screw. cooking, kitchen equipment, dairy, cakes, housework, early settlers, pioneers, baking, nutrition, blacksmiths, market gardeners, cake mixers, moorabbin, cheltenham, bentleigh, brighton

This bolster sham is one of several linen and clothing items that were made and belonged to Mrs. Eliza Towns and donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village. Eliza was born Eliza Gould in 1857 in South Melbourne (Emerald Hill) and in 1879 married Charles Towns. In the early 1880's they moved to Nhill in western Victoria and remained there for the rest of their married life. Charles was a jeweller and later became an accountant and for many years was involved with the Shire Council, the local show committee (A & P Society), the Hospital Committee and the Board of the local newspaper (the Nhill Free Press). They had three children and lived a life that would be regarded as comfortably "middle class". Eliza probably had a treadle sewing machine and would have made many of her own clothes and household linens - adding her own handmade embroidered or crocheted decorative trim. Most beds during the late 19th and early 20th century had a feather, hair or spring mattress covered by a blanket and topped with an under sheet, an upper sheet, several blankets and a bedspread. A flat bolster could be placed either under the pillows or on top of the pillows with a decorative sham. Washing pillows and quilts by hand would have been a very onerous task (involving heating water and handwashing in a tub or using a copper) and so it became the practise of many housewives to cover the pillows and bolsters with an outer slip (or sham) of washable material which could be easily removed and washed when needed. If the bolster was kept under the pillows it wouldn't need to be very decorative but many shams or slips that were "on show" were often highly decorated with embroidery, pintucks, ribbons or lace. This bolster sham is machine made and quite plain with the exception of some pintucking and eyelet lace on each end which suggests that it would mostly be hidden under the top pillows with just the decorative edges on display.This item is an example of the needlework skills of women in the early 20th century - combining machine stitching with hand embroidery to personalise and embellish a practical domestic object. It is also significant as an example of an early 20th century innovation that helped make the working lives of housewives a little bit easier.A long white cotton rectangular bolster sham, machine sewn, with seven ties and two buttons (plus one missing button) to enable it to be folded over lengthwise and closed. It has two pull string ties near each end to enclose a bolster and is finished with a decorative edge of pintucks and handmade eyelet lace and embroidery.flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, eliza towns, sham, bedding, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, warrnambool, household textiles, sewing, bolster sham, housework, pillow sham, charles towns, nhill, haberdashery, needlework, manchester, handmade, household linen

An eggbeater is a hand-held device with a crank on the side geared to one or more beaters. The user grips the handle with one hand and operates the crank with the other, creating the rotary action. A hand-turned rotary egg beater was patented by J.F. and E.P. Monroe in 1859 in the US. This egg beater patent was one of the earliest bought up by the Dover Stamping Company, whose Dover egg beaters became a classic American brand. The Monroe design was also manufactured in England. In 1870, Turner Williams of Providence, R.I., invented another Dover egg beater model. The Hobart Manufacturing Company was an early manufacturer of large commercial mixers. A mechanical egg beater with a wooden handle and steel gears and crank c1940cooking, kitchen equipment, dairy, cakes, housework, early settlers, pioneers, baking, nutrition, blacksmiths, market gardeners, cake mixers, moorabbin, cheltenham, bentleigh, brighton, monroe e.p., monroe j.f., egg beaters, williams turner, dover stamping compant ltd., hobart manufacturing company ltd.

This knitted toy rabbit was given to the donor as a child, made by a prisoner at the Geelong Gaol. The donor spent Christmas holidays at the gaol, below are some of her memories of these times: Eric Stafford was the Governor of Geelong Gaol and he and Elsie Stafford lived in the Governor’s residence at the front of the gaol where I stayed during Christmas holidays from about 1959 to 1962. ‘Aunty’ Elsie had the help of prisoners with the housework. One and sometimes two prisoners did the heavy cleaning of floors, windows and furniture polishing. I remember one prisoner down on his hands and knees polishing the lino in the long hallway to a bright gleam, and when a prisoner was helping in the residence, ‘Aunty’ Elsie, the prisoner and I would always have morning tea together in the kitchen. The backyard of the Governor’s residence was divided in two. The kitchen window overlooked the front part of the yard and I was allowed to play there with the dogs as ‘Aunty’ Elsie could keep an eye on me. The back part of the yard was behind a gated wall and I was not allowed in there as prisoners worked on the back garden, the chook pen and doing general maintenance – although I sometimes sneaked in with the dogs to see the chooks and have a chat but was called back. In the back there was a large padlocked iron bound door in the large bluestone wall which ‘Uncle’ Eric could open. A couple of times he took me through this door which opened into the gaol’s large vegetable garden. I only went twice as a didn’t like going there because all the prisoners working there would stop doing what they were doing, stand and silently stare at me. Of course holidaying in Geelong there was always the great beach and carnival rides. ‘Aunty’ Elsie and I would walk to and from the beach and on the way home would stop and buy an ice cream at the nearby shop. Sometimes we would buy an ice cream for ‘Uncle’ Eric and if there weren’t any vans, prisoners or visitors in the gaol entrance courtyard I was allowed to take the ice cream to ‘Uncle’ Eric in his office after ‘Aunty’ Elsie phoned him from the residence. ‘Uncle’ Eric had a sheep farm in Meredith and sometimes he took a prisoner with him to do some work on the farm. I can remember on the way to the farm sitting in the front seat of the vehicle squeezed in between ‘Uncle’ Eric and a prisoner with the dogs and equipment in the back tray. - Donor, 2025Woollen cream knitted toy rabbit in a knitted pink dress with a knitted green petticoat, knitted green panties and a little knitted cream rabbit tail. Holding a bouquet of felt flowers and a coronet of felt jewels on the forehead. Wool embroidered eyes, nose and mouth, and whiskers of silk cord.geelong gaol, craft, prison, prisoner, governor geelong gaol, holidays, childhood, working life, eric stafford, elsie stafford, geelong, meredith, rabbit, toy, knitting, hand made

This electric washing machine was typical of the machines in the homes of Mt Beauty during the 1950's. This one has a wringer attached enabling the washing to be pushed through squeezing the water out after washing.Mt Beauty township was constructed in the early 1950s with electricity connected. Residents were employees of the State Electricity Commission of Victoria and worked on the Kiewa Hydro Electric Scheme.Metal green cylinder standing on 4 roller coasters. Cylinder has 3 sections - bottom short & yellow, the rest divided into 2, each section is held by a strip of steel bracing. The top section of the cylinder is hollow with a stainless steel metal agitator with 3 'wings'. The cylinder has a rotatable switch on the outside and a moveable knob. Opposite on the outside is a metal pipe widening to the wringer which hangs above the cylinder. The green wringer has 2 cloth covered cylinders that can be separated by moving knobs. A flat stainless steel curved flat surface comes out at an angle below the cloth cylinder. An electric cord is attached. The cylinder has a lid with a knob in its middle.On the wringer: "Stampco"electric washing machine. mt beauty. s.e.c.v. kiewa hydro electric scheme. home duties. housework. wringer washing machine.

Ironing is the use of a machine, usually a heated tool (an iron), to remove wrinkles from fabric. The heating is around 180–220 °Celsius, depending on the fabric type. Ironing works by loosening the bonds between the long-chain polymer molecules in the fibres of the material. While the molecules are hot, the fibres are straightened by the weight of the iron, and they hold their new shape as they cool. Some fabrics, such as cotton, require the addition of water to loosen the intermolecular bonds. Many modern fabrics developed in or after the mid-twentieth century require little or no ironing. Permanent press clothing was developed to reduce the ironing necessary by combining Wrinkle resistant polymers with cotton. The first known use of the iron for removing wrinkles in clothes is known to have occurred in China, and the electric iron was invented in 1882, by Henry W. Seeley. Seeley patented his "electric flat iron" on June 6, 1882 (U.S. Patent no. 259,054). On 15 February 1858 W. Vandenburg and J. Harvey patented an ironing table that facilitated pressing sleeves and pants legs. A truly portable folding ironing board was first patented in Canada in 1875 by John B. Porter. The invention also included a removable press board used for sleeves. In 1892 Sarah Boone obtained a patent in the United States for improvements to the ironing board, allowing for better quality ironing of shirt sleeves.A domestic item with an interesting history of development, significant as it shows the progress and the evolution of a domestic item designed to make housework more efficient.Wooden Ironing board with press board for sleeves, board is folding.Noneflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, domestic item, ironing board, ironing, clothes, wrinkles in clothes, henry w. seeley, w. vandenburg and j. harvey

This is a plain black full length woollen skirt that women wore during winter in Moorabbin Shire when working around the house c1910. The early settler women were skilled dressmakers and made the clothing for their familiesA typical day skirt worn whilst doing housework by early settler women c1910. The family of Nance Blackburn were early settlers in Moorabbin ShireClothing, Lady's black long woollen skirt with a drawstring waist and a side inserted pocket blackburn nance, early settlers, moorabbin, cheltenham, bentleigh clothing, dressmaking, moorabbin shire