This is an Ad for a 1955 Malleys Washer ad.
It talks about no clutch and gearbox and that doesnt sound like a whirlpool.
It talks about no clutch and gearbox and that doesnt sound like a whirlpool.
1955 Malleys Ad
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Coming from a point of complete ignorance on this machine, but given the admittedly small amount of information in the ad and the size of the access door on the top, I would be willing to venture a guess that it was probably a tumble action machine. Did Australia have bolt-down washers early on?
Would love to see the inside of that beauty!
this is news to me.
I thought all Malleys were derivatives of the Whirlpool belt drive TL. This looks like Launderall, doen't it?
Launderalls were certainly sold here, maybe Malleys also had a version?
I have certainly never heard of a bolt down Malleys before.
Thanks for posting the pics Nathan, what a find.
Do you have any background info?
Chris.
I thought all Malleys were derivatives of the Whirlpool belt drive TL. This looks like Launderall, doen't it?
Launderalls were certainly sold here, maybe Malleys also had a version?
I have certainly never heard of a bolt down Malleys before.
Thanks for posting the pics Nathan, what a find.
Do you have any background info?
Chris.
Wow those are great ads! I never knew Whirlpool had designed anything like it. It looks sort of like a early or mid 50's GE/Bendix Squeeze Tub combo.
First impression was that it would be a Bendix. But it's very well possible after reading the text of the ad that it is an H-axis toploader. It would be nice to find out more about this machine.
Very cool ads, had it not said Malley's I would have thought it might have been a Blackstone clone with the small opening and large dials.
Thanks for posting these!
Thanks for posting these!
Its very strange 
Because the 1958 ad, has Whirlpool Corp written on it, and they both appear to be identical, I've assumed that whirlpool made both machines.
However I didnt think Whirlpool had FL machines quite that early and I didnt think there ever was a TL H - Axis.
The only thing I can think of, is that we got a design that was rejected in the US. Malley's never designed the machines, they built them from US spec's with Australian built components.
If you watch the movies Mother Takes a Holiday (About the whirlpool Auto development) this machine looks similiar cabinet wise to some of the designs they tried.
A rejected US design would make sense, as the washing needs of the typical AU housewife were very different in the 50's. In Australia most women were still using a copper with a hand wringer and doing it all by hand. If you were really weathly you might've had an electric wringer washer, or a Twin Tub, but you had to be really weathly. My grandparents were reasonabley wealthy on both sides, and Mums parents got a semi auto FL in 64 (replacing the copper) and Dad's parents got a twin tub in 69 to replace the copper. Dad's parents are still on their second washer (A 76 whirlpool) I think it'll outlive them now.
By the early 60's semi auto (Wringers, Twintubs) washers were becomming more prevalent, but it wasnt until the 70's that Autos went from a luxury item to an every day item.
I would love to find out more about these machines, but as the Malley's company was swallowed up in 79, to become Simpson Pope Industries, and then Simpson Pope was consumed by Email, in 81, Email was purchased by Southcorp in 2002 which has now been split into multiple pieces and Electrolux has the home appliances, I doubt there is any repository of this information left.
It would be my Nirvana to find one of these, so we'll just have to see what happens with time. One other thing to note, is that it took a 12 pound load in 55, isnt that large by comparision to other autos of the time?
Regards
Nathan
Because the 1958 ad, has Whirlpool Corp written on it, and they both appear to be identical, I've assumed that whirlpool made both machines.
However I didnt think Whirlpool had FL machines quite that early and I didnt think there ever was a TL H - Axis.
The only thing I can think of, is that we got a design that was rejected in the US. Malley's never designed the machines, they built them from US spec's with Australian built components.
If you watch the movies Mother Takes a Holiday (About the whirlpool Auto development) this machine looks similiar cabinet wise to some of the designs they tried.
A rejected US design would make sense, as the washing needs of the typical AU housewife were very different in the 50's. In Australia most women were still using a copper with a hand wringer and doing it all by hand. If you were really weathly you might've had an electric wringer washer, or a Twin Tub, but you had to be really weathly. My grandparents were reasonabley wealthy on both sides, and Mums parents got a semi auto FL in 64 (replacing the copper) and Dad's parents got a twin tub in 69 to replace the copper. Dad's parents are still on their second washer (A 76 whirlpool) I think it'll outlive them now.
By the early 60's semi auto (Wringers, Twintubs) washers were becomming more prevalent, but it wasnt until the 70's that Autos went from a luxury item to an every day item.
I would love to find out more about these machines, but as the Malley's company was swallowed up in 79, to become Simpson Pope Industries, and then Simpson Pope was consumed by Email, in 81, Email was purchased by Southcorp in 2002 which has now been split into multiple pieces and Electrolux has the home appliances, I doubt there is any repository of this information left.
It would be my Nirvana to find one of these, so we'll just have to see what happens with time. One other thing to note, is that it took a 12 pound load in 55, isnt that large by comparision to other autos of the time?
Regards
Nathan
171 Guineas
I was just doing some research on this. 171 Guineas is the equivilent of about $12000AUD in 2005 terms. That was a lot of money back then.
I was just doing some research on this. 171 Guineas is the equivilent of about $12000AUD in 2005 terms. That was a lot of money back then.
BTW what was a guinea worth? When did Australia convert to dollars? I vaguely remember going through the museum in Canberra with an exhibit on dollarization--was it late '60s?
I can still sing the Jingle:
"on the four-or-teenth of February, 1966".
I was two at the time, but I have heard it since.
I have no idea what a guinea was.
chris.
"on the four-or-teenth of February, 1966".
I was two at the time, but I have heard it since.
I have no idea what a guinea was.
chris.
What's a Guinea
Based on todays values, 1 Guinea was about $70 2005 AUD
Based on an exerpt from a google search:
This view inside the cabinet shows the quality of the construction. The envelope to the left of the chassis contained the original instructions and the guarantee.For those born after the abolition of pounds, shillings and pence, a guinea was equal to one pound and one shilling (a pound was equal to two dollars when decimal conversion was introduced at the start of 1966). So why was the term "guineas" used?
Well, it always sounded so much more upmarket (or "toffy") than pounds and shillings and it also had the advantage, at least from a salesman's point of view, of making the price sound less that it really was. Racehorses were always sold in guineas, for example, so why not upmarket radio receivers?
Based on todays values, 1 Guinea was about $70 2005 AUD
Based on an exerpt from a google search:
This view inside the cabinet shows the quality of the construction. The envelope to the left of the chassis contained the original instructions and the guarantee.For those born after the abolition of pounds, shillings and pence, a guinea was equal to one pound and one shilling (a pound was equal to two dollars when decimal conversion was introduced at the start of 1966). So why was the term "guineas" used?
Well, it always sounded so much more upmarket (or "toffy") than pounds and shillings and it also had the advantage, at least from a salesman's point of view, of making the price sound less that it really was. Racehorses were always sold in guineas, for example, so why not upmarket radio receivers?
Designgeek
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Brisnat, *VERY* interesting historical points you have there, re. "in Aus you had to be rich..." and the time-line of technology introduction. Anything else you have to say about technology timelines in Aus relative to lifestyle and economics, would be very interesting. For example, at what point did most households have radios? telephones? TVs? automobiles? home computers?
When you say "copper," do you mean a copper wash-boiler with no agitation?
The picture I'm getting here also suggests that energy was cheap in those days; or at least cheap enough that people could boil their wash every week and that would be cheaper than buying a washer and using warm water or cold. Question is, what was the energy source used for heating the wash-boilers? And if it was electricity, what was the source of your electric power in those days?
It seems to me that every country or region of the world had a different timeline for the various technologies becoming popular (I do mean popular; since each of these technologies was available sooner but had smaller market share). In the USA it was: wringers starting in the 30s, automatic TLs in the mid 50s, and now auto FLs in starting in the late 90s but only becoming really popular in the last couple of years. In the UK it seems to be: wringers starting in the 40s, then TTs in the late 50s through 70s, then FLs starting in the mid 70s. The US mostly skipped the TT stage of development, and the UK mostly skipped the TL stage of development, though you could & still can get the respective "missing" machines in both countries.
In Aus it seems like the situation was halfway between the USA and UK, but with the wash-boiler hanging around through the 60s, then TTs in the 60s through 80s, then FLs and TLs in more or less equal measure, is that about right?
When you say "copper," do you mean a copper wash-boiler with no agitation?
The picture I'm getting here also suggests that energy was cheap in those days; or at least cheap enough that people could boil their wash every week and that would be cheaper than buying a washer and using warm water or cold. Question is, what was the energy source used for heating the wash-boilers? And if it was electricity, what was the source of your electric power in those days?
It seems to me that every country or region of the world had a different timeline for the various technologies becoming popular (I do mean popular; since each of these technologies was available sooner but had smaller market share). In the USA it was: wringers starting in the 30s, automatic TLs in the mid 50s, and now auto FLs in starting in the late 90s but only becoming really popular in the last couple of years. In the UK it seems to be: wringers starting in the 40s, then TTs in the late 50s through 70s, then FLs starting in the mid 70s. The US mostly skipped the TT stage of development, and the UK mostly skipped the TL stage of development, though you could & still can get the respective "missing" machines in both countries.
In Aus it seems like the situation was halfway between the USA and UK, but with the wash-boiler hanging around through the 60s, then TTs in the 60s through 80s, then FLs and TLs in more or less equal measure, is that about right?
Designgeek
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One more thing: re. "rejected" USA designs: I don't think it was a question of "rejected," but of trying to develop machines for each market. For example USA automobile makers' overseas subsidiaries & affiliates have plenty of high-efficiency small cars that you can't get in the USA. Those aren't reject designs, they are designed for their local markets. (And the sooner those auto makers realize they can sell well in the USA, the better for us. Gas at $3 a gallon should start making people wake up....)
So then the question is, what were the mechanical and operating differences between the USA washers and the Aus washers from the same manufacturer and same year?
So then the question is, what were the mechanical and operating differences between the USA washers and the Aus washers from the same manufacturer and same year?
Copper
I mean non agitating copper. They came in different formats depending on where you were and your circumstances.
Some were built in to a concrete structure, and would've used a wood fire underneath. Others were free standing with either gas (LPG or Natural), Electricity, or Kerosene. In Queensland they were normally just under the house on a concrete slab or even in the dirt. (Queensland houses were traditionally highset with no builtins underneath) In the southern states they were usually in an outhouse or Laundry.
Electricity was mainly all coal fired in the early days, although the Snowy Mountains Hydro scheme provides a large amount of NSW power.
The clothes were put in and boiled, stirred with a washing stick, and then wrung either by hand or through a manual wringer. Thats what made the spin dryer so popular here as a standalone item.
I dont know that energy was cheap, but you're talking about an era where having large amounts of hot water on tap was very rare. Up until the mid 50's, Mums parents didnt have hot water on tap in the bathroom, there was a small storage tank on the wood stove in the kitchen, and water for the bathroom was heated in the copper and passed through the bathroom window in buckets. (This was in the country) In the mid 50's the house was plumbed with hotwater, heated by the wood stove in the kitchen, and stored in a tank on the roof.
This is why early washers had to have a heating element. In a lot of cases there was no way to get enough hot water into the machine, or else it was gravity fed and the pressure was too low.
It wasnt until major rennovations and modernisation of the house in the early 70's that an electric stove and electric hotwater storage tank were put in.
Dad's parents have only recently gotten Solar to heat their hotwater, for the last 40 odd years its been heated via the wood stove and stored in the roof.
In the city all these modernisations would've happened earlier, but still only by those who had the money to do them. Australians have never been as wealthy in monetary terms as in the US, but its only been in the last 20 years that money has become an indicator of happiness.
FL machines have only become really popular in Australia in the last 5 years or so. Up until that point, most people still had the beleif that you had to have lots of water to wash. However escalation water prices with the increasing drought conditions have meant that people have had to change.
I mean non agitating copper. They came in different formats depending on where you were and your circumstances.
Some were built in to a concrete structure, and would've used a wood fire underneath. Others were free standing with either gas (LPG or Natural), Electricity, or Kerosene. In Queensland they were normally just under the house on a concrete slab or even in the dirt. (Queensland houses were traditionally highset with no builtins underneath) In the southern states they were usually in an outhouse or Laundry.
Electricity was mainly all coal fired in the early days, although the Snowy Mountains Hydro scheme provides a large amount of NSW power.
The clothes were put in and boiled, stirred with a washing stick, and then wrung either by hand or through a manual wringer. Thats what made the spin dryer so popular here as a standalone item.
I dont know that energy was cheap, but you're talking about an era where having large amounts of hot water on tap was very rare. Up until the mid 50's, Mums parents didnt have hot water on tap in the bathroom, there was a small storage tank on the wood stove in the kitchen, and water for the bathroom was heated in the copper and passed through the bathroom window in buckets. (This was in the country) In the mid 50's the house was plumbed with hotwater, heated by the wood stove in the kitchen, and stored in a tank on the roof.
This is why early washers had to have a heating element. In a lot of cases there was no way to get enough hot water into the machine, or else it was gravity fed and the pressure was too low.
It wasnt until major rennovations and modernisation of the house in the early 70's that an electric stove and electric hotwater storage tank were put in.
Dad's parents have only recently gotten Solar to heat their hotwater, for the last 40 odd years its been heated via the wood stove and stored in the roof.
In the city all these modernisations would've happened earlier, but still only by those who had the money to do them. Australians have never been as wealthy in monetary terms as in the US, but its only been in the last 20 years that money has become an indicator of happiness.
FL machines have only become really popular in Australia in the last 5 years or so. Up until that point, most people still had the beleif that you had to have lots of water to wash. However escalation water prices with the increasing drought conditions have meant that people have had to change.
Designgeek
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Brisnat, as with Gizmo, your accounts of domestic life in Australia are *really* interesting. As I said, we in the USA tend to think of Australia as "like the UK but more rural," which is silly; and I really appreciate your information here.
Coppers with wood fire: For anyone in the USA who thinks a wringer was inconvenient, think of having to build a wood fire outside once a week in order to do the laundry. Wash *day* indeed. Right up throught the 1970s. Very often we fail to realize how much of a difference our domestic technologies make in our daily lives...
Where you say, clothes put in & boiled: Did the boiling reduce the need for soap or detergent; or not; and what about rinsing?
Re. hot water passed into the WC in buckets: so for instance when someone wanted to take a bath, they'd have to heat the water outside first? What about hot water for shaving? And what about hot water in the kitchen for washing dishes?, or was that water heated on the stove or cooker?
Re. FLs in the last five years: Before that, were the automatic TLs more common, or TTs? My going hypothesis was coppers -> TTs -> auto TLs & FLs. But from what you said, sounds more like coppers -> TTs -> TLs -> FLs, is that about right?
Re. money & happiness: Doesn't make as much difference as you think. Above a certain level of material wellbeing, i.e. home, food, sanitation, basic creature comforts, the correlation drops off very quickly. Probably due to the fact that the "happiness" circuits in the brain self-adjust in a manner similar to the way the eyes adapt to light or the ears adapt to ambient sound levels (detailed discussion of neurophysiology omitted to avoid digressing the topic). You would be surprised at how many apparently affluent people are not happy, and get trapped in a cycle of thinking that more money will somehow solve that (but it doesn't).
Given the world situation re. energy, water, climate, etc., people are going to have to start learning new ways to adapt, and it seems to me that Australia is already ahead of the curve on that.
Coppers with wood fire: For anyone in the USA who thinks a wringer was inconvenient, think of having to build a wood fire outside once a week in order to do the laundry. Wash *day* indeed. Right up throught the 1970s. Very often we fail to realize how much of a difference our domestic technologies make in our daily lives...
Where you say, clothes put in & boiled: Did the boiling reduce the need for soap or detergent; or not; and what about rinsing?
Re. hot water passed into the WC in buckets: so for instance when someone wanted to take a bath, they'd have to heat the water outside first? What about hot water for shaving? And what about hot water in the kitchen for washing dishes?, or was that water heated on the stove or cooker?
Re. FLs in the last five years: Before that, were the automatic TLs more common, or TTs? My going hypothesis was coppers -> TTs -> auto TLs & FLs. But from what you said, sounds more like coppers -> TTs -> TLs -> FLs, is that about right?
Re. money & happiness: Doesn't make as much difference as you think. Above a certain level of material wellbeing, i.e. home, food, sanitation, basic creature comforts, the correlation drops off very quickly. Probably due to the fact that the "happiness" circuits in the brain self-adjust in a manner similar to the way the eyes adapt to light or the ears adapt to ambient sound levels (detailed discussion of neurophysiology omitted to avoid digressing the topic). You would be surprised at how many apparently affluent people are not happy, and get trapped in a cycle of thinking that more money will somehow solve that (but it doesn't).
Given the world situation re. energy, water, climate, etc., people are going to have to start learning new ways to adapt, and it seems to me that Australia is already ahead of the curve on that.
The copper was probably nearing the end of its life by the mid 60's in most places. It was just way to much hassle. Your progression of technologies is correct, Coppers -> TT & Wringers -> Semi Auto TL & FL -> Auto TL -> Auto FL.
For a bath, you would heat the water in the copper and pass it into the bath in buckets. Some places had Chip Heaters (Small wood fired water tank) or maybe gas or Kerosene, but these would usually be in the kitchen, only sometimes in the bathroom. Other Hotwater for facewashing, shaving etc would come in from the kitchen, either from a mini hotwater tank above the sink, or from a tank on the wood stove.
In the last 5 years there has been a variety of domestic FL machines come onto the market. Prior to that they were all mainly european. Hoover was one of the few Australian companies to make a FL for years.
For a bath, you would heat the water in the copper and pass it into the bath in buckets. Some places had Chip Heaters (Small wood fired water tank) or maybe gas or Kerosene, but these would usually be in the kitchen, only sometimes in the bathroom. Other Hotwater for facewashing, shaving etc would come in from the kitchen, either from a mini hotwater tank above the sink, or from a tank on the wood stove.
In the last 5 years there has been a variety of domestic FL machines come onto the market. Prior to that they were all mainly european. Hoover was one of the few Australian companies to make a FL for years.
