Women’s History Month: March 2011
Cooking Demonstrations in South East Queensland
Edited from the book ‘Switched-on Queensland’ by Dr. Jan King
The Field Day events and demonstrations were popular with farmers and their wives. In the 1950s there was a return to this type of show in the rural areas. The aims were to encourage the use of electrical appliances and to stress the suitability of the land for irrigation to boost production.
Selected farms in the Lowood, Rathdowney and Kalbar districts were chosen as venues from 1953 to 1954 for a series of demonstrations of electrical equipment, which could be used on farms for the operational improvement and irrigation purposes. The domestic sphere was also targeted for the benefit of the farmers’ families.
The Kalbar Field Day, which was held in July, 1954 was declared as being the most successful day of the series. Many people travelled to Mr. Diekman’s farm from surrounding areas to experience the varied programme of speakers and practical demonstrations of the use of electrical energy.
Explaining the ways in which the use of electrical energy encouraged its extension into scattered rural areas, Mr. F.R. L’Estrange, SEA Consumer Engineer gave an account of the successful irrigation by electricity of the Lockyer and Brisbane Valley districts. He claimed that electrical irrigation methods had ‘revolutionised production’ and added that electric power brought with it the comforts of the city to country homes, improved cultivation for the farmer and brought an essence of security from the potential ravages of drought conditions.
The ladies present on the day were invited to presentations of a variety of electrical appliances and a cooking demonstration. The household appliances were shown and used by Mr. P. Mather and Miss Dicker from SEA and the cooking demonstration was done by Mrs. Kerr using all-electric equipment.
It was said that never before in the district had so many women sat so quietly for so long.
Refreshments were supplied for everyone at the Field Day and during intervals between demonstrations and talks, it was claimed that there had been plenty of interest shown and enquiries made. The day ended with ‘appreciative addresses’ given by Mr. A.G. Muller, M.L.A for Fassifern and Councillor E. Purdon, Boonah Shire Chairman who thanked SEA for its interesting and enterprising performance.
Cooking and Electric Appliance Demonstrations
Judith, Wendy and Nancy were three of the most popular women in SEA for housewives in South East Queensland. Nancy was an appliance demonstrator at Cochran House in Brisbane. She also attended the country agricultural shows to hold demonstrations. Various electrical appliances would be used during the shows. Judith was a Home Demonstrator. Her work involved travelling to homes and explaining the safe use of recently purchased electrical appliances. With ranges and stoves she would demonstrate the efficient use of the controls when cooking meals for the family. Wendy would provide cookery demonstrations to large audiences of housewives gathered in community halls or at the SEA Field Days. To further the appeal of electricity as a clean energy source, both Judith and Wendy visited schools to talk to students and teachers of Home Science. SEA provided electric ranges for the participating schools.
The demonstrations were part of the activities to promote the use of electricity in the home for cooking and other domestic purposes. Wendy and Judith had attended demonstrations in Ipswich, Stanthorpe, Warwick, Nambour, Gympie, Dalby and other towns, and on the South Coast. Sometimes the job came after a request from community women’s groups, such the Country Women’s Association, Girl Guides, ladies’ auxiliaries and church groups. At other times, the demonstration was initiated by SEA to stimulated domestic loading in newly-reticulated areas. The Field Days and Country Shows were popular venues for cooking displays and occasionally cookery competitions.
For many of the women present, cooking with electricity was a new experience, some were using old electric stoves and others had just bought a new electric one, depending on the area where the demonstration was taking place and the extent to which reticulation had already taken place. Wendy usually cooks up to five different dishes during a 1½-hour session. Often the group staging the demonstration would ask Wendy to cook special items. ‘Sponge cakes and scones are very popular requests’ she said.
However, Wendy had noticed that Australian housewives were beginning to be more adventurous in their cookery, particularly for special occasions. ‘Because of this’ said Wendy, ‘the main course demonstrated is often a Continental or Chinese dish’.
Being familiar with a wide range of electric stoves, the cooking abilities, temperature controls and easy cleaning techniques, Judith mainly went to the homes of women to show them how to use the various controls to the best advantage. Many of her calls came from women who had purchased a new electric stove and wanted to learn how to operate it. She often ended up in the kitchen cooking batches of scones, biscuits, a cake or sometimes a dinner for the family. Some of the women had little idea about cooking with electricity. One woman believed that the performance of her stovette was being affected by the length of the cable linking it with the power source. Another woman complained that her meat was always unevenly cooked and it was messy. Judith found that she was trying to grill steak on a bare radiant hot plate. Poor instruction manuals were often to blame, declared Judith, with major technical facts explained, yet basic details for the housewife left out. This led Judith to make many recommendations to manufacturers for the improvement manuals.
It was claimed that ‘thousands of housewives’ in the Western Downs area will remember the relief they felt when they had their first electric stove installed.
One of the servants that has contributed greatly to making the housewife’s task a happy one is the electric stove – and what a revolution has taken place in this field in the last few years!
Furthermore, promotional literature praised the benefits of using electric stoves, and not only by the housewives. Hotels, motels, cafes and restaurants, it was said, were able to offer improved services to their customers, with ‘speed, economy, cleanliness and convenience’. The ‘modern’ electric stoves utilised push-button technology had a clean, streamlined appearance, automatic timers, radiant hot-plates, generously-sized external grilling facilities, and the good insulation meant minimal heat loss.
The housewife no longer needs to perspire over preparation for the family meals; she remains fresh and relaxed to welcome her family home.
SEA News, October, 1954, ‘The Field Day Is Popular With Farmers’, p.11.
Ibid.
SEA News, April, 1963, pp.10-11 and p.22.
SEA News, April, 1963, pp.10-11, Wendy’s comments on p.11.
SEA News, April, 1963, p.11.
SEA News, August, 1965, pp.4-5.
Electricity Supply Supplement, 5 February, 1971, ‘Electric cooking has transformed kitchen tasks into a pleasure’, p.7.
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