Butter churn made by E Cherry & Sons
Object No. 85/2110
This is a good example of large, hand-operated Bentwood box butter churn used to make up to 14 pounds of butter. It was made in Gisborne, Victoria, by the famous manufacturer, E. Cherry, and is known as an Improved Patent No.2 model probably dating from the late 1800s. The Cherry works specialised in making all types of butter churns and equipment for both domestic use on farms and small butter factories during the late nineteenth and early to mid. twentieth centuries. Milk was "separated" to retrieve the cream which was then beaten to make butter. Butter churns were appliances used to produce butter by the violent agitation of separated cream. Depending on the design of the churn, the agitation would be variously achieved by a repetitive thrashing, centrifugal motion or internal paddles. Table-mounted churns stirred the churn's contents with internal paddles of various designs. Box butter churns, like this one were in the shape of a cube, made of wood and featured slattered four-bladed internal paddles. The paddles were joined to a central spindle which was turned from an outside handle. The handles had to cranked vigorously to revolve the paddles to churn the cream. Margaret Simpson, Curator July 2018
Loading...
Summary
Object Statement
Butter churn, with fitted lid, no. 2 size, box type, hand operated, wood, made by E Cherry & Sons, Gisborne, Victoria, Australia, 1900-1930
Physical Description
Butter churn, No.2 size, Improved Patent Bentwood box churn, with fitted lid, wood, made by E. Cherry, Gisborne, Victoria, Australia, 1900-1930 Rectangular buttern churn, footed wooden box containing an X-shaped wooden interior rack, which is joined to an exterior metal hand crank with turned wood handle, through a hole in the box. Beneath the hand crank is a hole from the interior lined with metal. The lid has a carry handle affixed to the lid on two cross pieces attached to the lid by brass screws.
DIMENSIONS
Height
400 mm
Width
415 mm
Depth
295 mm
PRODUCTION
Notes
E. Cherry & Sons was established in 1858 at Gisborne, Victoria, by Edward Cherry (1830-1910) who had arrived in Australia from Hertfordshire, England, in 1855. Cherry manufactured churns and in 1875 opened a factory for their manufacture. Butter churns and other dairy manufacturing equipment were made by the firm which traded as E. Cherry between 1889 and 1899. Their churns were made of seasoned New Zealand kauri pine which was steamed to provide the curved shape. Other items associated with the company were butter cutters, cheese presses and cheese vats. The firm's motto was "Quality first, last and all the time!" In 1890 Edward Cherry was joined by a partner, George Lyell (1866-1951), who later became the company's managing director. In 1892 the firm was said to be responsible for bringing the first Babcock milk testing equipment to Australia. By 1904 they were known as E. Cherry & Sons. Their churn factory, located in the centre of Gisborne, was destroyed by fire in 1912 but was rebuilt. By 1914 the company was manufacturing machinery for cheese production, while butter cutters, cheese presses and cheese vats continued to be produced up to 1943. By this time the firm was trading as Cherry & Sons Pty Ltd. A number of different sized butter churns were made by E. Cherry & Sons including the A, OO, O, 1, 2 and 3. The A size was for between 1 lb and 3lbs of butter and cost 20 shillings in 1911 as advertised in the Anthony Hordern's Catalogue, a Sydney department store.
SOURCE
Credit Line
Purchased 1985
Acquisition Date
21 October 1985
Copyright for the above image is held by the Powerhouse and may be subject to third-party copyright restrictions. Please submit an Image Licensing Enquiry for information regarding reproduction, copyright and fees. Text is released under Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivative licence.
Image Licensing Enquiry
Object Enquiry