Teacher Resources for Kitchen & Laundry Technology

The present coal range oven at Highwic is a Shacklock “Orion” featuring two equal sized ovens with a fire box between.  It was a popular New Zealand brand developed by Henry Shacklock in Dunedin in the late 19th century.  Highwic’s model is c.1911 and is specially suited to using lignite coal which has always been widely available in New Zealand.  It is still in good working order.  Before 1911 there would have been another earlier range oven and possibly an open fire to begin with.

Coal ranges were kept going day and night, providing hot water and warmth in summer and winter alike.   The service wing at Highwic, comprising the kitchen, scullery, wash house, dairy and meat storage, is built of brick as a fire deterrent.  During the winter months the coal range fire in the kitchen made this room the most inviting of the house.  In days gone-by the laundry was usually aired in the kitchen and the young children of the Buckland family were fed here.

It is not known how often Alfred and Matilda Buckland entertained at Highwic but dinner parties would have been a feature of their social life.   Victorian etiquette meant serving several courses, with each course beautifully decorated and ready at the right moment.  This would have meant hours of preparation and good servants were always difficult to come by in the early days of Auckland.  Matilda Buckland may well have done some of the cooking and food preparation herself.  Her hand written recipe book has two dates, 1879 and 1890.  There are recipes for making griddle cakes, tapioca cream, bread, apple dumplings, barley water, marmalade pudding, gem scones, raspberry jelly and Victorian biscuits.  The emphasis is on good plain English cooking with an emphasis on cakes and puddings.

The Bucklands had five acres surrounding their house which provided vegetables, fruit, meat and dairy produce.   There would have been at least one groom and gardener, possibly more.  Accommodation was provided for the outdoor staff in the lower paddock.  This was where there was a large vegetable garden which would have kept the household supplied with fresh produce.  As well they would have had access to the city markets and no doubt hunting and fishing excursions would have added to the range of food available. 

In the courtyard on the south side two purpose built brick rooms were built under the water tank.  They have arched roofs to support the weight of the water and keep very cool even on the hottest days.  One of these rooms was the dairy and the other was for meat storage.  They are the equivalent of modern refrigerated store rooms.  Fine wire mesh across the windows meant the food was protected from flies.

A maid would have been responsible for collecting the milk buckets from the cowman first thing in the morning and in the evening.  Some of this milk was poured into large basins and kept cool for 24 hours.  The cream was then skimmed off and churned to make butter.  Leftover buttermilk was usually fed to pigs or used for bread making.  The cream would be churned into butter at least twice a week.  It is difficult to imagine the amount of sheer physical work and time that went into providing enough food for a large family in the 19th century given today’s labour saving technology.

Ironing

Without electricity, doing the ironing was a skilled task. It required care and attention to manage the sad or flat iron heated on the solid fuel stove. At the time, 'sad' meant heavy and that is what they were, constructed of cast or wrought iron. It took practise to know where to place the irons for heating and to gauge the correct temperature for woollens, cottons, or delicate silks. Great care had to be taken not to get soot on the iron and so dirty the clothes again. Instructions could be found in “The Women’s Book:  Contains Everything a Woman Needs To Know”.  Inscribed “Dora Saunders - To Dora, with love from us All Xmas 1913” Walsh Memorial Library MOTAT.

There is no process in laundry work that requires greater or neater handling than ironing…. Until it can be done with speed it cannot be done well…. An iron cools so quickly …. And constant changing makes it a tiring process.  A novice at the work is almost sure to meet with disappointment until a certain amount of experience has been gained.

Ironing should not be a noisy proceeding….. Do not thump it down.

Handle the things so as not to crush the parts that are already ironed. There is quite an art in the way the clothes are handled and moved about.

The iron needed preparation before use:

Have a wooden box, and put at the foot of it some sandpaper.  Rub the iron well on this ….Then have ready a piece of coarse cloth or sacking with a little grease on it…  A piece of bees wax or candle end shred down will do. Rub the iron on this to make it run smoothly.

The irons themselves had to be looked after:

 ..It is well to wash the irons thoroughly with hot water, soda and a brush and dry thoroughly.  On no account must an iron be black leaded.  Never allow them to stand flat on a stove when the fire is going out as damp collects and rusts them.  If you once allow them to get rusty the surface is never so smooth again. 

A new iron had to be prepared before it could be used:

It is almost impossible to iron with perfectly new irons, they must be seasoned first.  Heat for several hours, then clean and cool.  Repeat the process for several days.

The Women’s Book gives a long list for the well equipped laundry.

• Iron stands to stand high enough above the table to prevent scorching of the ironing sheet.
• Iron holders; several thick folds of flannel to keep the heat from the hands.
• Special irons are provided with wooden handles which will not require a holder.
• Shirt, skirt and sleeve boards
• Polishing boards
• Basins for making starch, soaking and washing small items, and for holding sprinkling water
• Bags for boiling clothes
• Sundries such as a  soap dish a small enamelled saucepan and knife for making soap jelly
• A wooden fork or stick for lifting clothes from the boiler,
• Clothes basket, a can for water, a steel comb and brush for fringes, one or more teaspoons, one wooden spoon, one gill measure,
• Three or four towels, soft rag for rubbers, one or two pieces of white felt for ironing lace and embroidery, three or four jars for keeping stores will complete the outfit of a laundry.

Book your school visit now - your visit includes

• An introduction with the Highwic educator
• a chance to try out a range of indoor and outdoor games and activities from the past
• Exploration of the house and garden
• resource material with information and pre and post visit ideas (pdf, 237 kb) - find out more about laundry equipment.

Call Highwic on (09) 524 5575 or email Highwic Education - please mark your school booking "Education".

Curriculum Links - Kitchen and Laundry Technology at Highwic 

Technology Curriculum Achievement Objectives

Technological Knowledge

Technological Products Levels 1-8

• Students will see a range of irons from early Chinese examples to 20th century electrical innovations. Comparisons can be made in the materials used for construction and the changes in design over a period of time. Understandings about the ways fashion and society have dictated the technological needs over time will be apparent.
• Other kitchen and laundry equipment will be on display including a working range oven, wash tubs, boards and a mangle and cooking utensils.

Technological Systems Levels 1-8

• A range of 19th century irons will be demonstrated showing heating processes and the ways different irons have been adapted to meet the fashion needs of the time e.g. crimping irons.
• There will be opportunities to discuss the care and maintenance of iron and other kitchen and laundry equipment.

Nature of Technology

Characteristics of technology Levels 1-8

• Students will have opportunities to handle irons and other equipment and experience/see the difficulties faced in a pre-electricity world. There will be opportunities to discuss the way inventions in kitchen and laundry technology have revolutionised the role of women and men in daily living requirements.
• Students will have opportunities to explore the lives of inventors in this field especially Mrs Potts who developed the sad iron with the wooden handle.

Characteristics of technological outcomes Levels 1-8

• Students will be able to identify the different needs the various irons on display were designed to meet. They will see how form and function of household equipment have changed over the years.
• The opportunity to explore Highwic and learn about the Buckland family will provide an ideal background to life in the 19th and early 20th centuries particularly as it relates to a wealthy family and their servants

Book your school visit now, your visit includes