Auger Stove Door

AHM003459 is a small door from an oven compartment of a 19th Century cast iron auger stove. These stoves were quite common in kitchens by the mid 19th Century, generally located against a wall within a chimney-well or fireplace to direct the smoke outside. As well as being used for cooking, they provided warmth and heated water, and came in several shapes and sizes but generally consisted of small oven compartments with doors at the front and stove hobs ontop for cooking with pots and pans. These stoves didn't have the availability of gas in the main chamber, so other materials such as wood and coal were used as a heat source. The outside materials would have to be strong and resistent to high temperatures as well strong enough to handle supporting the pots, pans and food. This particular example has the "Advance Australia" coat of arms on the front of the door which was used in the colonies on-and-off since the 1820s as a way of developing a sense of national identity well before federation.