The Coolgardie safe was invented in the late 1890s on the Western Australian goldfields. Its invention was credited to a local contractor named Arthur Patrick McCormick. It was a practical system to preserve food prior to modern refrigeration. The wire grid kept the food safe from vermin and allowed breeze to blow through. It was often covered with wet hessian so that as the breeze circulated the water evaporated, creating the same concept as coolant in modern refrigerators and ice boxes. In most respects it was a variation of the bushman’s hessian bag hanging in a tree. In larger towns and cities during this time period large "ice works" could deliver block ice to areas that required a form of refrigeration. These ice blocks where held in early refrigerators to keep perishables cool. In isolated or rural households, the Coolgardie or meat safe was the next best, practical solution for food preservation. This safe was used in the home of the Conway family in Wodonga.This item is very significant to the Wodonga region as it represents the initiative and problem solving skills of the early settlers. It also reflects the primitive conditions in which they lived before the arrival of more modern services such as electricity.Meat safe or Coolgardie safe manufactured in Australia. This safe is made from metal and has been painted in green paint. 2 sides of the safe have a pattern of 6 squares of holes to allow for ventilation and air flow. The holes would also guard against insects and other vermin. There is one shelf inside, dividing it into 2 sections. The safe has a hook attached so that it can be suspended, often from a tree or on a verandah to increase air flow. The safe would often be covered by wet hessian to promote further cooling and preservation of foods such as milk, butter and meat.coolgardie safe, food preservation, pioneers innovation

Without refrigeration, storage of meat was difficult. Flies were a problem, and it was important to keep meat cool and out of the way of pests. One way of doing this was to use a meat safe: a kind of cupboard designed to store meat and keep it fresh enough to eat. Meat safes are ventilated. They were sometimes made with sides of wire mesh or perforated metal, so that air could circulate around the meat while keeping flies and other animals out.The Coolgardie safe was invented in the late 1890s by Arthur Patrick McCormick, who used the same principle as explorers and travelers in the Outback used to cool their canvas water bags Originally they were handmade using materials to hand. In the early 20th century, Coolgardie Safes were manufactured commercially across Australia, and found their way into homes in both rural and urban areas. These safes incorporated shelving and a door, had metal or wooden frames and Hessian bodies. The feet of the safe were usually placed in a tray of water to keep ants away. (refs ABC-Home; Museum Victoria)The Coolgardie safe was an Australian invention used especially in country areas from the 1890s until the mid 20th century. It began to be replaced by ice chests from the turn of the twentieth century in cities and country towns which had ice works. This item is an example of a domestic appliance commonly used before electricity was widely available for domestic use.A cube-shaped metal Coolgardie safe painted blue. It has a triangular hook on the top for hanging or lifting. There are small feet at bottom . The sides are perforated in a Above the door; Inside a rhomboid shape "WILLOW"food-storage coolgardie-safe domestic

Without refrigeration, storage of meat was difficult. Flies were a problem, and it was important to keep meat cool and out of the way of pests. One way of doing this was to use a meat safe: a kind of cupboard designed to store meat and keep it fresh enough to eat. Meat safes are ventilated. They were sometimes made with sides of wire mesh or perforated metal, so that air could circulate around the meat while keeping flies and other animals out.The Coolgardie safe was invented in the late 1890's by Arthur Patrick McCormick, who used the same principle as explorers and travelers in the Outback used to cool their canvas water bags Originally they were handmade using materials to hand. In the early 20th century, Coolgardie Safes were manufactured commercially across Australia, and found their way into homes in both rural and urban areas. These safes incorporated shelving and a door, had metal or wooden frames and Hessian bodies. The feet of the safe were usually placed in a tray of water to keep ants away. (refs ABC-Home; Museum Victoria)This item is an example of a common domestic appliance used before the widespread connection of electricity to homes and refrigeration. The Coolgardie meat safe is an Australian invention used widely in rural areas from the 1890's until the mid 20th century.A metal meat safe, painted white. It has a shelf inside. The door has two perforated rectangular sections metal framed in solid metal. The base is flat.storage domestic coolgardie-safe

Coolgardie safes were invented in the 1890s by Patrick McCormick in the Western Australian town of Coolgardie. Coolgardie safes were usually placed in a draughty areas, often under verandas. The hessian was placed in the water and draped around the sides and the draft cooled the contents of the safe. The legs could be stood in another tray of water to deter ants. This safe was bought at an auction at Orford by Laurie Gunnulson.Coolgardie safe has a box-shaped frame with wire mesh on the sides for air circulation. A four-legged tray for water is at the bottom. A piece of hessian hangs on one side (for demonstration purposes). The safe opens by a hinged door with a wire handle and there is a maker's name on the front. Inside it has a shelf in the middle. The safe is painted with Silvafros.Simpsonallansford, food storage, simpson, coolgardie safes, food safes, orford

The invention of the Coolgardie Safe is credited to Arthur Patrick McCormick, a contractor in Coolgardie, and later the Mayor of Narrogin. Coolgardie is in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia. Gold was first discovered there in 1892; the townsite became a municipality in 1894, and by 1898 its population of 15,000 made it the third largest town in Western Australia after Perth and Fremantle. In the last decade of the 19th century, Coolgardie was the capital of the West Australian goldfields. Being 180 kilometres from the nearest civilisation, food supplies were initially scarce and expensive. As fresh food was a valuable commodity there was incentive to preserve it, and keep it out of reach of scavengers such as birds, dingos, dogs, ants, and flies. It was in an effort to do this, in the extreme heat of the Australian Interior, that McCormick came up with his design for the Coolgardie Safe. McCormick noticed that a wet bag placed over a bottle cooled its contents. He further noted that if this bottle was placed in a breeze, the bag would dry out more quickly, but the bottle would get colder. What McCormick had discovered was the principle of evaporation: ‘to change any liquid into a gaseous state requires energy. This energy is taken in the form of heat from its surroundings.’ Employing this principle, McCormick made a box for his provisions which he covered with a wet hessian bag. He then placed a tray on top, into which he poured water twice daily. He hung strips of flannel from the tray so that water would drip down onto the hessian bag, keeping it damp. As the water evaporated, the heat dissipated, keeping the food stored inside cool and fresh. The success of McCormick’s invention would not have worked without a steady supply of water. Fresh water was scarce in the eastern goldfields at this time but the demand for water from a steadily growing population encouraged innovation. The solution was to condense salt water. Heating salt water in tanks produced steam that was condensed in tall cylinders, cooled and then collected in catchment trays. By 1898 there were six companies supplying condensed water to the goldfields, the largest company producing 100,000 gallons of water a day. In the early 20th century, Coolgardie Safes were also manufactured commercially. These safes incorporated shelving and a door, had metal or wooden frames and hessian bodies. The feet of the safe were usually placed in a tray of water to keep ants away. (MAV website) The early settlers of Moorabbin Shire depended on this type of Food Safe to protect their food from flies and vermin as they established market gardens in the fertile area around the notorious Elster Creek A metal framed, 4 sided structure standing on 4 legs with 2 hinged doors on one side, a metal tray at base of food safe and a metal cover over top. Ridges on which to rest trays carrying food are inside safe. The Safe is enclosed by fly-wire mesh.'...IN.....GEELONG' A manufacturer's oval metal plate is embossed on one side of Safe but it is illegible.elster creek, moorabbin, brighton, dendy's special survey 1841, market gardens, infant mortality, disease, cemeteries, fruit, vegetables, pioneers, coolgardie safe, mccormick arthur patrick, dendy henry, vaccination, jones martha, jones ethel may

The harsh summer temperatures and the isolated rural environment(of the 1890's) provided the inventor of the "Coolgardie safe" (Arthur Patrick McCormick) with an idea to cool perishable foods by using water soaked "hessian" cloth to provide the "coolant" for the evaporation process to cool the inside temperature of the "safe". Items such as meat,cream/milk/butter and cool "drinks" are a few perishables that need cool environments , especially in isolated "ice free" locations. Cities during this time period had large "ice works" which delivered block ice to all areas that required a form of refrigeration. These ice blocks where held in early refrigerators to keep perishables cool to cold. This "Coolardie" safe was the next best thing for isolated rural households and travellers/campers/stockmen to provide a cooler environment for foodstuff affected by heat. Ice filled "esky" coolers and ice boxes are a modern day off shoot to the original Coogardie safe however they still rely on ice or frozen coolant bricks for cooling.This "Coogardie" safe is very significant to the Kiewa Valley and the Bogong High Plains because it represents not only the initiative thinking of the early settlers and communities but also the "primitive" solution to an everyday (1800s to 1930s) problem (before gas and electric run refrigerators) of keeping "perishables" at a low temperature and thereby prolonging their "shelf" life. This was before electricity and gas was available to the inhabitants of the Kiewa Valley and Bogong High Plains. Another cooling method for food was to have "water tight" containers dipped into the very cold streams running from the "cooler" alpine mountains and the Bogong High Plains. This however could not be carried out in all situations eg. fast flowing currents and locations away from streams. This "Coolgardie safe" is made from a medium grade steel enclosure and its appearance is of a perforated box with a wire handle and one side (long side) being a hinged "door" with a clasp securing "lock". There are air holes grouped into a small "boxed" pattern. Each "box" is divided by a crossed pattern, dividing the "holed" sections(4) into a diamond configuration of 49 small holes each. There are four sides (long) which have the perforations except for the base which does not. The base has an indentation with a loose "catch" tray to catch water spills. When in use the "box" is covered with a water "soaked" cloth. The wet cloth is used as "coolant" ie. fibers in the cloth hold the water droplets seep out evaporating the area and thereby (in mass) cooling the air inside the container.domestic refrigeration cabinets, coolgardie "safe", insect and vermin proof food containers, electric and gas free cold storage containers

This safe came from the property “Fairview” Tungamah. Victoria. Fairview was owned and farmed by Charles and Nellie Nunn. The safe is at least 100 yrs old and served the family of parents and 12 children well by keeping food cool in the blazing summer days. Beverley Long(McFarlane) remembers it on the farmhouse verandah of her grandparents property near the dairy where fresh milk was separated to produce cream and butter..it cooled meats, and dairy products by strips of hessian kept wet by water stored in the top tank, hanging down around the safe.More than 100 years oldMetal box construction with fly wire covering on all 4 sides. Has three shelves

A pioneering response to the problem of preservation of foodstuffs in hot climatesA timber framed hessian covered cabinet with metal tray at the top and metal guttering cooled by the evaporation of water. Used to preserve cheese, butter, cream and meat and to set jellies. Invented circa 1900 at Coolgardie, W.A. and was in use until electric refrigeration became available.

This Coolgardie safe is a significant example of late-19th-century Australian ingenuity and domestic adaptation in response to the challenges of life in remote and harsh environments. Invented in the late 1890s by Arthur Patrick McCormick at Coolgardie, then the center of a major Western Australian gold rush, the safe represents an important technological response to the need for preserving perishable foods in extreme heat before the availability of mechanical refrigeration. Using the same evaporative principles employed by explorer’s canvas water bags, the Coolgardie safe utilised a timber frame, zinc metal sheets, wire mesh panels and wet hessian cloth to create a naturally cooled storage chamber. When placed in a draught or breeze, evaporation lowered the internal temperature, allowing miners, settlers and later rural households to keep meat, dairy and vegetables safe for longer periods. Sylvia Schultz (nee Ziebell) remembers the Coolgardie safe at Ziebell’s Farmhouse “was always positioned in the pantry where it is today, near the window to allow the breeze in”. Items the Ziebell’s stored in the safe included meats, milk and cream, and home-made goods. This object embodies a pivotal moment in Australia’s social and technological history, illustrating resourcefulness, adaptation to climate, and the lived realities of those who settled and worked in remote regions. As an early form of sustainable refrigeration, it contributes valuable interpretive depth to domestic, rural and goldfields history. Handmade food safe with white painted wooden frame and perforated zinc screen panels. Galvanised sheet roof. Raised four beveled legs. Two rectangular doors, bottom door large, opens to main area with one shelf. top door small, opens to triangular roof section. Movable latches of wood on both doors.No visible markingsdomestic items, food storage and preservation, food, safe, storage, pantry, carl ziebell

Willow started business in 1887 as a metal working company based in Melbourne Australia, making tinned biscuit and tea canisters. The outbreak of the First World War saw their manufacturing change to making armaments and essential packaging for the war effort. In the early 1920’s, the Willow brand was established. Making tin plated canisters and baking pans with the well-known Willow pattern, imprinted on them. Some other items in production at this time include billies, boilers, basins and Coolgardie safes. In the late 1950’s, the company ventured into plastics production. Stepping away from its very successful tin plating industry of more than 50 years. In 1965, the company name changed to Willow Ware Pty Ltd, to be more closely linked to its Willow brand. Willow Ware is still  in business today. A food safe known as a “Coolgardie” meat storage made by an emerging Australian company no longer in bushiness. This item gives a snapshot into early Australian manufacturing specifically aimed at the Australian market.Safe metal kitchen food safe with 2 shelves, a hinged door and latch and a small swivel wire handle at the top. Painted light green, rusting.Willowwarrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, safe, food safe, meat safe, coolgardie safe, domestic object, kitchen object, willow ware, food preservation, kitchen safe

This food safe is a mass-produced item made for domestic use by Willow Manufacturing in Australia fin the mid-20th century. Willow started a business in 1887 as a metalworking company based in Melbourne Australia, making tinned biscuit and tea canisters. In the First World War, the company began manufacturing armaments and essential packaging for the war effort. In the early 1920s, Willow produced domestic kitchen bakeware such as tin-plated canisters and baking pans labelled with the well-known Willow brand. Other items at this time include billies, boilers, basins and Coolgardie safes. In the late 1950s, the company ventured into plastics production. and in 1965, the name changed to Willow Ware Pty Ltd, to be more closely linked to its Willow brand. Willow Ware is still in business today.The Australian food safe is an example of domestic food storage and preservation in Australian homes from the mid-19th century and early 20th centuries. It is part of the evolution of food preservation methods leading up to our modern electric appliances. The maker, Willow, has a name associated with practical and reliable domestic products.Metal kitchen safe with two shelves, a hinged door and latch and a small swivel wire handle at the top. Painted light green. Airflow holes have been formed in each side panel. Made by Willow, Australia.Marked "Made in Australia" "Willow"flagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff hill maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, food storage, food preservation, willow, willow manufacturing, willow australia, kitchen storage, food care, 19th century, 20th century, willow ware, domestic item, coolgardie meat safe, meat safe, food safe, coolgardie

Willow started business in 1887 as a metal working company based in Melbourne Australia, making tinned biscuit and tea canisters. The outbreak of the First World War saw their manufacturing change to making armaments and essential packaging for the war effort. In the early 1920’s, the Willow brand was established. Making tin plated canisters and baking pans with the well-known Willow pattern, imprinted on them. Some other items in production at this time include billies, boilers, basins and Coolgardie safes. In the late 1950’s, the company ventured into plastics production. Stepping away from its very successful tin plating industry of more than 50 years. In 1965, the company name changed to Willow Ware Pty Ltd, to be more closely linked to its Willow brand. Willow Ware is still  in business today. A food safe known as a “Coolgardie” meat storage made by an emerging Australian company no longer in bushiness. This item gives a snapshot into early Australian manufacturing specifically aimed at the Australian market. Safe metal kitchen safe with two shelves, a hinged door and latch and a small swivel wire handle at the top. cream colour . "Made in Australia" "Willow" warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, willow ware, domestic item, coolgardie meat safe, meat safe, food safe, food preservation

This galvanized iron dipper was made by the "Willow" company, in the 1920's. The company was founded by Ralph and Richard, sons of Ralph Wilson, Sen., (c.1826 - 14/6/1901), with start-up capital from their parents. They began making tin cans in 1887 and constructed a factory in North Melbourne, and established the "Willow" brand in the 1920s, making Coolgardie safes, billies and other metal cookware, and became W.M.Y and A.H Wilson Ltd.Small galvanized iron dipper with soldered handle, mainly for transferring water."Willow"

This particular small ice chest was once part of the domestic furniture of Dr W.R. Angus and his young family in 1927 when they lived in the Nhill and Ballarat districts. The family relocated to Warrnambool in 1939 and brought the ice chest with them. An ice chest, also called an icebox or refrigerator, was invented by Thomas Moore in 1802 and had become a common home appliance from the mid-1800s until around the 1930s, when electric refrigerators became affordable and safe. The non-mechanical ice chest allowed perishable food to be kept fresh for longer than the food-safe or ‘Coolgardie’ used in colonial days in Australia. It required the use of ice blocks, which were delivered to households by the ‘iceman' and his horse and cart. The ice man would use an ice pick to cut the blocks into the right size for the buyer’s ice chest. The ice came from an ‘ice house’, a factory where the ice was made. The ice chest required a block of ice to be placed into the insulated top section on top of the corrugated iron stand. The ice would cool the air and the cool air would flow downwards through the oval hole under the stand and into the refrigerator compartment below. The water from the melted ice would drain from the sloping floor of the top compartment and into the hooded pipe. The pipe went through the refrigerator and ended below its floor, where the drained water would be collected in the metal bowl placed there for that purpose. The lip on the bowl allowed it to be easily removed and emptied at regular intervals before it overflowed. W.R. Angus Collection- The W R Angus Collection spans from 1885 to the mid-1900s and includes historical medical and surgical equipment and instruments from the doctors Edward and Thomas Ryan of Nhill, Victoria. Dr Angus married Gladys in 1927 at Ballarat, the nearest big city to Nhill where he began as a Medical Assistant. He was also Acting House surgeon at the Nhill hospital where their two daughters were born. He and his family moved to Warrnambool in 1939, where Dr Angus operated his own medical practice. He later added the part-time Port Medical Officer responsibility and was the last person appointed to that position. Dr Angus and his wife were very involved in the local community, including the early planning stages of the new Flagstaff Hill, where they contributed to the layout of the gardens. Dr Angus passed away in March 1970.This ice chest is significant for representing a method of refrigeration and food preservation used in the 19th to mid-20th centuries when people were beginning to afford powered domestic refrigerators. After the second world war, most households replaced their food storage cupboards and ice chests with refrigerator appliances. The ice chest is also significant for its connection with the domestic furniture of Dr W.R. Angus and his family, and its inclusion in the W.R. Angus Collection.Ice chest; single front wooden cabinet with two doors and a flap, and three accessories. The top door is a lid with a metal handle at the front and two metal hinges along the back. The front door has two metal hinges on the right-hand side and has a metal lever catch. A hinged flap fits between the front legs at bottom of the ice chest and swings upwards. The front legs have wheels. The insulated top compartment has a metal lining and its floor slopes towards the centre of the back wall. In the floor are a formed oval air-flow hole and the open end of a pipe that has a hood partly covering it. The front compartment is an insulated metal-lined cupboard with a vertical pipe down the centre of the back wall and horizontal rails in the centre of each side wall. The accessories are a rectangular corrugated iron stand, a rectangular wire grid shelf and a round aluminium bowl with a lip and two sides pushed in. The ice chest was made circa 1927 and is part of the W.R. Angus Collection.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime village, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, great ocean road, dr w r angus, dr roy angus, dr ryan, doctor angus, dr angus, ice chest, ice box, antique, food preservation, refrigeration, domestic equipment, kitchen appliance, refrigerator, non-electric refrigerator, non-mechanical refrigerator, w.r. angus collection