POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Ice chest, 1920-1930

Object No. 86/618

An ice chest or ice box was an early, non-mechanical domestic appliance used to keep food cool before the advent of the kerosene or electric refrigerator. Ice chests comprised a free-standing wooden cabinet lined with galvanised-iron or more expensive seamless porcelain enamel. Inside, they were insulated with charcoal, cork or other materials. A hinged lid in the top compartment held a large block of ice and a door below this compartment provided access into the ice chest itself where the food was stored on two shelves. The melted water ran down to a container or catch pan at the bottom of the unit where it was collected and removed. A small net bag of charcoal placed inside the ice chest kept it sweet smelling absorbing odours such as fish. This ice chest was made in Australia in about 1939 and features a cabinet of Australian oak insulated with charcoal. Ice chests were used commercially from the mid-1800s with ice cut from lakes and shipped to Australia. By the 1890s, with the establishment of local ice works to produce synthetic ice, domestic ice chests were sold and used here until the 1950s and the common use of electric refrigerators. Ice for the ice chest was delivered to householders by horse and cart twice a week. The ice man carried the 30 cm block of ice into the house on his shoulder wearing an open-sided hessian sack over his head and shoulders. Although artificial refrigeration was widespread in the food and beverage industries by the late 1800s, it was only with the development of an affordable, self-contained electric refrigerator in the early 1900s that the full benefits of refrigeration finally reached the home. The invention of the domestic refrigerator was one of the most important of the 1900s. Its use in food storage is vital, slowing the development of bacteria, reducing the likelihood of food poisoning, keeping food edible for much longer and reducing spoilage. Until domestic fridges became common-place, keeping food fresh in the hot Australian climate was a constant problem. The Coolgardie safe, with its hessian walls wet with water, helped a little but fresh food had to be purchased almost daily and milk delivered twice a day. Next came the ice chest, only useful in towns with an ice works. This kept food a little cool but not chilled and required a large block of ice to be delivered regularly. A breakthrough was the development of the kerosene-powered fridge, which was especially beneficial on Australian outback farms where electricity was not available. These were made in Sydney by Hallstroms from 1928. Nevertheless, electric refrigerators continued to be a luxury in Australia and did not become common-place here until the 1950s with greater prosperity and the widespread availability of electricity. Margaret Simpson, Curator November 2017