Cream Separator - Alfa Laval No. 23
Cast iron stand and crank handle painted red.
Metal bowl and spouts painted silver sitting on top of base.
The Alfa-Laval cream separator was widely used in Australia, replacing previous methods of separating cream by allowing it to stand in wide, shallow pans. The first cream separator used in Australia was brought to the country in 1883 by Mr. D. L. Dymock on behalf of the Fresh Food and Ice Company located in Mittagong. The Pioneer Dairy Company, as it was known, was erected in 1883 and opened the following year. In fact two separators were introduced at the time, both by the Fresh Food and Ice Company.
These early machines were worked with a hand crank to initiate the centrifugal process, though this source of power was later replaced with steam turbine engines and later still with the widespread availability of electricity. The invention of the first continuous cream separator by De Laval was an important development which had strong impacts on the growth of the dairy industry in Australia.
The centrifugal process separated the milk into cream (made up of denser fat globules) and skim milk (which was retained to feed pigs). The introduction of the mechanical cream separator transformed the dairy industry. It enabled farmers to more rapidly (and in larger quantities) process their milk into cream.
https://ehive.com/collections/3736/bega-pioneers-museum
Details
Details
On bowl: Alfa Laval 23
Plaque on one side of base stamped with:
Alfa-Laval 23 - 50 Gallons Capacity Per. Hoop - 55 Revs. of Crank Per Minute - Alfa-Laval Separator - Co. Ltd. - 299 Sussex Street - Sydney
Plaque on one side of base stamped with:
Made In Sweden - The Alfa Laval Separators - Are protected by the following - British Patents - (illegible) - Other Patents Pending
