POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Notes

This washing machine was made by the Melbourne firm of Wolter & Echbert established by Friedrich Wolter and Hans Echberg. In 1875 this firm applied for a patent for 'improvements in clothes-washing machines'. The basis of their application was the addition of the corrugated semicircular lining inside the tub. As similar inventions had already been patented, their patent was only partially granted and applied only to the corrugated lining. An all-timber washing machine on a stand was exhibited by the firm in Melbourne in 1875. A further patent No. 658 was taken out on 4 March 1878 for an improved clothes washer. The compressed air version of their washing machine, of which this is an example, was exhibited and demonstrated at the Sydney International Exhibition of 1879 and recorded in the "Australian Town and Country Journal" of that year as "An interesting trial took place on Monday after noon in the Machinery Hall, of Messrs. Wolter and Echberg's new patent galvanised iron washing machine, for which Messrs, Holdsworth, Gardyne, and Co. of this city are the agents. The machine claims to be the simplest and most effective of all machines for household washing purposes. It is exceedingly simple and handy and easily worked. It is made of the very best galvanised iron, and is like a small barrel, having conical ends and placed on a rocker. The clothes which underwent the trial were exceedingly dirty, far more so than an ordinary household washing would be, and the test in this respect was a very good one. The clothes washed were canvas, such as those used by engineers and firemen at work, and woollen shirts. The clothes are first soaked and soaped in the ordinary manner, a handful of Soda is added, the clothes are put into the cylinder, hot water is poured in, and the top of the cylinder is then closed in. The machine is then rocked to and fro easily for five minutes, when the cylinder is opened, and the clothes are found to be perfectly clean and ready for rinsing, wringing, and drying. The cleansing process is caused by the compressed air and steam, and the machine being perfectly airtight, the rocking motion forces the steam through the clothes and thoroughly cleanses them. The patentees claim for the machine that it does the work equal to the best hand washing, free from counter-friction, and does not chafe or tear the articles. Only the weight of the clothes rub against each other and the inside of the machine. It will wash the heaviest quilts or blankets as well as the finest lace or muslin. The test altogether was pronounced a very satisfactory one, and the machine will certainly tend to do away with much of the unpleasantness and hard work of washing day. The price, too, is cheap, and within the reach of everyone. The patentees have been awarded a large number of prizes for this machine, and it is well worth an inspection by householders. It will be shown at work almost every afternoon, and is situated at the south end of the first machinery hall." The marketing pitch that the machine operated on compressed air, with the pressure apparently built up in the sealed and confined space of the tub, would probably not have made any difference to the wash. With the widespread use of steam power, it was a creative but unsubstantiated marketing claim.