The Hat Expander
Donated by Mrs Jo Ranson, the hat expander belonged to her husband's father.
The expander for hats became part of many households when felt hats for men and women were all the vogue, in particular, the top hat and bowler hat for men.
Felt is a non-woven fabric made from wool, fur or hair which is matted together under pressure then dried into 'hat' shape over a mould for specific head sizes. Felt had a great habit of shrinking when becoming wet, so if caught in the rain, the hat would become uncomfortable to the wearer after it dried. By placing the expander in the hat and rewetting the hat, you then turned the ingenious screw spindle and stretched the head size. After allowing the hat to remain in the expander until it was thoroughly dry, head comfort and resizing was assured.
I recently used it effectively to revive my felt hat which I purchased at Expo 1988 but unwearable for years after becoming wet.

The Meat Safe
(I)Donated by Lindsay Proctor
Prior to the availability of ice and the arrival of the refrigerator or deep freezer, the keeping of perishables was always a problem for the cook.
The meat safe donated by Lindsay measures 46 x 46 cm with perforated holes on each of the four sides, one of which was a hinged door allowing products to be placed inside.
It has been finely perforated forming a decorative pattern however the holes are small enough to prevent flying insects to enter.
Quite often meat, butter and cheese were stored in the safe which was suspended by a cord or wire outside the house, close to the kitchen. By doing this, the safe was always handy for the cook. A dampened piece of hessian or a bag was hung over it and any breeze would pass through the damp bag cooling the air and keeping the contents of the safe cooler as a result.

The Winchester Torch
Donated by the Society's Patron, Nancy Fursman
Not too long after her arrival in Australia as a young 14 year old in 1927, Nancy was not required to attend school and within a week she was assisting her uncle Vic and her Dad John in their twice a day milk deliveries to surrounding suburbs.
Her trusty torch, purchased so that at night she could read the order notes left out by their customers, check the money left out and then leave the correct change.
The trademark Winchester was made in the United States, Patent Apr. 8 1919 and Pat Jan 6 1925, it was then a must this moder aid to seeing in the dark.
A very robust and solid torch measuring 13cm long by three cm in diameter and was battery operated. A button, five cm from the top, when depressed, caused the small bulb to illuminate, the light shining bright from a silver reflector behind the glass lens. Both the top and bottom sections can be unscrewed for maintenance.
As new, it had a bright silver coating over a solid brass shell and once can but imagine how many times our Billy-girl Nancy carried the torch and turned it on and off. Nowadays the silver is worn away and the shiny brass surface now revealed, knows the answer to that question.