Posted by David Bamford on October 09, 2007 at 21:06:08 from 220.253.25.197 user David.
In Reply to: keeping food cool - back to basics posted by Jock on October 09, 2007 at 15:52:58:
Because our climate can be very warm in summer, the matter of keeping food gave our pioneers something to think about. They came up with the 'Coolgardie Safe', named after the inland town in Western Australia. This consists of a metal box, well perforated. The sides continue up past the top to form a waterproof tray. Hessian sacking panels are fixed in the tray and allowed to hang down the sides. The tray is part-filled with water, which soaks down through the hessian. Any passing breeze will evaporate the water from the hessian, cooling the contents of the safe. They were apparently quite effective.
David.