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Overview
This electric oven was produced by the Canadian firm Moffat Appliances in the mid-1920s. Full-size electric stoves were scarce in New Zealand until 1924, but by the end of that year three models of Moffat electric stoves were available, followed quickly by six McClary models, also produced in Canada. By the 1930s Moffat was the market leader, and Turnbull and Jones, who distributed the stoves in NZ, claimed in 1938 that ‘there are over 40,000 NZ homes daily using "Moffats"’.
The introduction of gas and electric stoves, which gradually superseded coal and wood ranges, made cooking much quicker and easier. They cut out the work required to cart coal, cut wood, and keep a fire stoked, while also making the kitchen cooler and less dusty. Advertisements for Moffat Appliances promised to provide the modern housewife with opportunities for leisure and better health, while allowing them to experience the ‘thrill of kitchen happiness.’ ‘From breakfast time to supper time you will experience a new thrill in your kitchen,' promised one 1937 advertisement, 'for a Moffat Electric Range is the modern way to prepare meals. There’s no drudgery in the home when a Moffat is in use.’
Despite these promises, the introduction of new cooking technologies did not necessarily save women labour. For example, in-built temperate gauges provided greater accuracy and made it possible to produce a wider range of dishes, but this created an expectation of more elaborate meals. Historian Ruth Schwartz Cowan has described this as one of the great ironies of the industrial age.
As women’s participation in paid employment increased over the course of the twentieth century time-consuming family meals did become less common, and some elements were replaced by more convenient, ‘instant’ alternatives. Nevertheless, a 2009-10 survey found that on average women still spent twice as long cooking as men.
Further reading:
- Burton, David. 2013. 'Cooking - Cooking technology.' Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. https://teara.govt.nz/en/cooking/page-1#1
- Cowan, Ruth Schwartz. 1983. More Work for Mother: The Ironies of Household Technology from the Open Hearth to the Microwave. New York: Basic Books.
- Leach, Helen. 2014. Kitchens: The New Zealand Kitchen in the Twentieth Century. Dunedin: Otago University Press.
- Veart, David. 2008. First Catch Your Weka. Auckland: Auckland University Press.