Image Metters 'Moffat' electric stove, late 1930s

TLF ID R6382

This is a cast-iron stove called the 'Moffat', produced in Melbourne by Australian manufacturer Metters KFB in the late 1930s. The stove is set on four iron legs and consists of an oven, cooktop and griller. It is finished with green enamel and three cream enamel panels inset on the knob interface, griller door and oven door. The cooktop and griller are on the left-hand side. There are five controls on the interface, labelled 'FRONT', 'BACK', 'RIGHT', 'OVEN TOP' and 'OVEN BOTTOM'. On the right-hand side is the oven, whose door has a large handle and a thermometer, set on the front panel, that measures up to 600 degrees F (315.5 degrees C). The branding on the panel reads 'MOFFAT by METTERS KFB'. The stove stands 94 cm high, is 95 cm wide and 60 cm deep.





Educational details

Educational value
  • This stove represents the state of stove-making technology in the 1930s, when electric stoves began to be competitive with gas stoves. The iron stove was invented by Benjamin Franklin and was originally powered by wood. Other early stoves in the 19th century included gas stoves, coal stoves and kerosene stoves. The first electric stove was made in 1891 and patented in 1896 by William Hadaway. The gas stove remained the most popular stove in most households until the 1920s and 30s.
  • The Australian manufacturer Metters KFB, the producer of the stove, was formed by a merger between two companies, Metters of Sydney and KFB Foundry. Metters was formed in 1891 in Adelaide and began its business supplying affordable wood and fuel stoves, later moving into gas and electric stoves. In 1927 Metters and KFB Foundry merged, becoming Metters KFB, and in 1974 Metters KFB was taken over by the US firm Email Ltd.
  • The stove reflects the growing role of electricity in people's domestic lives in this period. Electricity was first introduced into Australia in 1863 when the first electric light was put on public display at the Observatory in Sydney. With the construction of power stations fuelled by coal, all states had some form of electricity by the early 1900s.
  • This luxury electrical item was purchased by the wealthy family of a successful businessman in the late 1930s, at a time when many Australians were still feeling the effects of the Great Depression. This family already owned an electric refrigerator and an electric food mixer. Larger electrical appliances such as refrigerators and stoves remained out of reach for most people until the 1950s.
  • The manufacture and purchase of this stove represent the early adoption of an electrical domestic appliance at a time when most homes were not yet wired for electricity. In 1927, 34 per cent of homes in Australia were electrically wired and the clothes iron was the most popular electrical appliance.
  • This particular stove was apparently used only once or twice to bake scones and was then abandoned in disappointment, while according to family lore, not even the cook was allowed to use it. The stove remained unused in the kitchen for more than 40 years alongside the faithful old gas stove it was meant to replace.
  • The stove is very rare in that its condition is almost perfect, making it a highly valued artefact of Museum Victoria's collection. Domestic appliances that find their way into museums are usually marked by years of hard use.
  • The measurements on the stove's temperature gauge are in degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature scale used in Australia at the time. The Fahrenheit scale was named after the German physicist Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686-1736), who invented the mercury thermometer and developed the scale so that the freezing point of water was at 32 degrees and the boiling point was at 212 degrees. Like most countries, Australia used the Fahrenheit scale until it was phased out in favour of the Celsius scale during the 1970s.
Year level

F; 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12

Topics War veterans
Learning area
  • History
  • Studies of society and environment

Other details

Contributors
  • Author
  • Name: Metters KFB
  • Organization: Metters KFB
  • Description: Author
  • Person: Benjamin Healley
  • Description: Author
  • Contributor
  • Name: Museum Victoria
  • Organization: Museum Victoria
  • Description: Content provider
  • Address: VIC, AUSTRALIA
  • URL: http://www.museum.vic.gov.au/
  • Name: Metters KFB
  • Organization: Metters KFB
  • Description: Author
  • Name: Education Services Australia
  • Organization: Education Services Australia
  • Description: Data manager
  • Person: Benjamin Healley
  • Description: Author
  • Copyright Holder
  • Name: Museum Victoria
  • Organization: Museum Victoria
  • Address: VIC, AUSTRALIA
  • Publisher
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organization: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Description: Publisher
  • Address: VIC, AUSTRALIA
  • URL: http://www.esa.edu.au
  • Resource metadata contributed by
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organisation: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Address: AUSTRALIA
  • URL: www.esa.edu.au
Access profile
  • Colour independence
  • Device independence
  • Hearing independence
Learning Resource Type
  • Image
Rights
  • © Education Services Australia Ltd and Museum Victoria, 2016, except where indicated under Acknowledgements