The first house I rented was in Wetherill Park, Sydney, during the early '80s, and had a 30" Frigidaire electric range. Then I also owned a portable toploading GE dishmobile. Once I spotted an old 40" GE (Astrogl...?) electric cooker in turquoise at an old home in Woolarah. That one had dials, not push buttons and it looked like a relic from the sixties. I was fascinated by it, as one would be. Though, I had to moderate my curiosity, since I was not well acquainted with the occupants of that place. Thus I was unable to inspect it closely.
Yes Toggles, most homes used to and still have the 24" wide cookers. Although, Simpson, Westinghouse and Chef all made 30 and 40 inch gas and electric ranges with rear mounted controls until the late '90s. One still sees them in older homes and residential facilities. In fact, one of my old workplaces had a 40" Simpson Imperial range in the catering kitchen that was attached to the executive office.
On a side note, although we are officially metric, lots people still use imperial measurements. The sizes of boats and trailers are never expressed in decimals. Nor have I ever heard Australian men express the dimensions of their most important anatomy in centimeters - it is always inches or feet ;0). Old habits die hard.
rapunzel