Historical information

The Kettle Drum Drenching Gun was invented and predominately used in the 1940s and 1950s. This Drench Gun was constructed by Moffat-Virtue Ltd, an Australian company formed by John Moffat and William Wright Virtue. Moffat-Virtue Ltd were a Sydney company whose products, including windmills and shearing machinery, were well known in rural NSW throughout the mid twentieth century. The company was taken over by Fire Fighting Enterprises Ltd in June 1966 (Rudder, G 2020).
The Drench Gun was likely used to drench sheep with carbon tetrachloride for internal parasite control. These guns were widely used in Australia. There were problems with the product, however, which contributed to its demise. On hot days and if the sheep struggled while being drenched, some fluid would go into the wind-pipe and into the lungs of the sheep, sometimes with fatal results. At times nearly one-third of a flock could be found dead. Inexperienced operators, overdose and weather were often blamed for the deaths (Davidson, K 2012).

Physical description

A brass drenching kettle consisting of a brass bowl and a detachable plunger mechanism. The plunger is alloy and the handle has a hinge to create suction to spray liquid out the brass nozzle.

Inscriptions & markings

Moffatt-Virtue Limited 3841 C V ROBERTS/ PATENTEE Pest Arrestor