Sad-irons or "solid" irons were made by blacksmiths and used to smooth out material by pressing the hot iron over it. A piece of sheet -iron was placed over the kitchen fire and the irons placed on it could be heated whilst remaining clean of ash.. The women used 2 irons - one heating while the other was used. Thick cloth or gloves protected their hands from the hot irons. The handle was removed from the cool iron and re- attached to remove the hot iron from the fire. The cool iron was replaced on the fire or stove to heat again. These irons were cleaned with steel wool to prevent them marking the material. If the iron was too hot the material would scorch. Most homes set aside one day for ironing and some large households had an ironing room with a special stove designed to heat irons. However, most women had to work with a heavy, hot iron close to the fireplace even in summer. Late in the 19thC designers experimented with heat retaining fillings for these irons. William Coleman began selling Kerosene lanterns in 1900 in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, USA. He moved to Wichita, Kansas in 1902 and the company became world wide. The company also produced a range of cooking stoves and domestic irons. This spirit- fuelled flat iron was very popular in 1920s - 30s These sad irons remind us of the difficult circumstances experienced in their daily routines by the pioneers and early settlers of Moorabbin Shire The family of Miss M Curtis were early settlers in Moorabbin ShireA) spirit- fuelled, sad iron with chrome plated sole c1920, and metal trivet The iron is blue enamel with a white speckled body, with a hemispherical tank for the Coleman 'Lighting Petrol' that provided the heat for smoothing the material B) Coleman Fuel measuring can and funnellMetal Trivet/stand " COLEMAN" ; Petrol can " COLEMAN" / MEASURING CAN / for INSTANT LIGHTING IRON/ with printed instructionssad iron, kitchen equipment, coleman william, kansas, oklahoma, pioneers, early settlers, market gardeners, sewing, craftwork, clothing, moorabbin, brighton, bentleigh, fireplaces, stoves, petrol fuelled irons, spirit flat irons, coleman lamp stove co. ltd.

This iron was used to press clothes prior to the spirit and electrical irons becoming available circa 1930s - 1950s. The main body of the iron was placed on a flat heated surface of a stove (wood, coal or gas fired). It was mainly used by women in their domestic role, ironing the family's clothes and linen. In the Kiewa Valley the supply of coal or gas was not available or too expensive than the locally cut hard wood trees. Ironing was time consuming as the iron had to be heated, used and then reheated to the required level of application. Kiewa Valley farmers' wives used these irons having heated their stoves with local timber from their farms. This iron is made of cast iron. The handle is a hollow cylinder and is 70 mm above the solid 30 mm base. Presumably the handle was wrapped and/or threaded with cloth to protect the hand from the heat of the iron. The iron would have been heated on the top of a stove.6 Metters KFB Victoriairon, laundry, domestic, antique, pressing clothes, household

This iron used its own fuel to heat up the iron rather than earlier flat irons that required heating on top of the stove."Comfort Self Heating" clothes iron. Spirit iron with wooden handle and metal tank for spirit fuel (probably benzene.). Different fuels were used, some with dire resultsflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, spirit iron, self, heating iron, comfort iron, comfort self heating iron