This week i saved two old camp ovens, from finishing up in a chinese scrap yard. One of them is a Metters 12inch and the other one is a Alston Maryborough no 11. Im not sure if the alston was made in Scotland or Australia. Does anyone know of or have heard about this particular make of camp oven. Any idea how old these ovens are. Any info would be appreciated. Im in the process of cleaning them up now. I will post the photos when they are completed. The Metters cost me $75 and the Alston cost me $79. I think they were good buys

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/9536/25042008001bj9.th.jpg
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/2665/25042008003lr2.th.jpg
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/5808/25042008004aa4.th.jpg
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/4174/25042008005ak9.th.jpg
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/2220/25042008kr3.th.jpg

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/5313/24042008es6.th.jpg
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:)

Hi Nelson

Very good buys thats for sure.

Is it a Maryborough Alston or a Maryborough Albion.  Never heard of the Alston before but the Albion was made here in Queensland in the late 1800's and very early 1900's

This is the stamp under the lid of my Albion No 10

http://www.aussiecampovencook.com/Camp%20Ovens/Albion2.JPG

HI Derek Thanks it is an albion maryborough No 11. After i cleaned it up you can see the letters. The person i bought it from had a tag to say it was a Alston. It comes with a sprung steel handle with a wooden handle. I will post some photos tommorrow. thanks
Nelson

Yep, both nice ovens and a good buy. Not sure when Metters stopped making pots but Albion closed shop in Maryborough in 1907. Run a tape over the Albion, are you sure it's an 11" ?
The bail with the wooden handle is definitely not original and I would get rid of it but that's just me.
Interested in where you got these babies and where you live ?

pd

G’day poddy dodger, I picked these ovens up at a place called the Rustic Gallery in Bellevue Perth. It’s a shop that sells old farm relics and collectables; it’s got lots of good stuff in it.
After seeing the photos of the E & G Foundry Fremantle camp oven that Mackerel Whisperer picked up, I have been looking for one no luck yet but I will not give up until I find one. The Albion is 11 inches across the centre, the 2 ovens were sitting outside in the rain, just pure luck been in the right please at the right time, Thanks for the info on the age of the Albion I am almost too scared to cook init

http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/5739/27042008wi9.th.jpg
http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/8198/27042008002ur6.th.jpg

:)

G'day Nelson. I use all my old ovens, to me that is part of the pleasure in collecting. I don't take them camping though, that's when they "wander off".
I didn't know Albion made an 11", I have a 10" and a 12" that I really like and use a lot.
Re bails, an old bloke told me that early ovens left the foundry without bails and they were added by the owner at a later date, that's why they are all different. I buy 6mm stainless rod and make bails for the pots I get without them. I've found 6mm is the best, it doesn't pull in and stop the lid coming off if you've got the oven suspended over the coals.
pd

G'day Nelson,
                 a couple of nice pickup's there mate. Can't wait to see 'em after the makeover :).
Your right when you say in the right place at the right time, I recently found a 12" Furphy and never expected it at all. ;) You just need a little cash to complete the deal before anyone has time to check the prices  ;D or some good wares in the car for an amicable swap! ;D

All the best
Skip

Nelson,
I picked up a 12" Metters a few weeks ago & did some research on them,
Although I didnt get anything specific on camp ovens I did find that Metters made most of the cooking gear for the diggers in WW1,
They were mostly known for thier CI stoves up until the 30's or 40's from memory.
Maybe Astro can elaborate on this???

Mick.

G’day guys thanks for all the information on the ovens, I have just got back into camp fire cooking, I used to work for a exploration company in the early eighties  in WA, NT, SA  And cooked in them almost all the time.
Poddy dodger you have a 10 and a 12 inch  Albion, as I am only new to collecting camp ovens  and what I have read on this great site is that ovens come in multiples of 2. Seems odd to have an  odd number.
SKIP: the picture of your 12" Furphy looks great, can you give me any information what to look for to tell the difference between an original and one that is made in China.
Mick It would be very special to think that our diggers in WW1 used these camp ovens, I will cook something Australian in it next ANZAC day.  :)

G'day Nelson. Just to confuse the issue C C Harding of Ballarat made ovens in odd sizes, I have three 11" and three 13" ones.
Also have a couple of unnamed 9" and 11" . Pics posted today by Skip (I think) show a couple of 17" Harding's that I'd love to call mine.
Astroboy could tell you more on (odd) oven sizes.
pd

I wish they were mine too PD but have to say there were Mick's. Very nice

Regards Skip

I have a 9" Metters here so looks like most sizes are covered

Nelson wrote on Apr 28^th, 2008 at 9:24pm:

SKIP: the picture of your 12" Furphy looks great, can you give me any information what to look for to tell the difference between an original and one that is made in China.

G'day Nelson,

Nice ovens there mate. Some good info here regarding Aussie and Chinese Furphys

http://www.aussiecampovenforum.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1205186500

Cheers

Jono

I reckon one of us needs to go buy a Chinese Furphy so that we can take heaps of photos to show everyone what they look like.

Now who's going to do it.  Not me. 8-)

I use'ta think that if I looked long and hard enough I'd find some of those rarer ovens but now I'm starting to think they ain't there to be found .....or maybe they're just avoiding me.
Like I say though, "It's the thrill of the chase", and isn't it nice when you do find something good.
pd

One thing I noticed on the weekend about this 15" Furphy is it was as heavy as the 17" Hardings we were using, the walls were about 8mm thick.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee104/billybushcook/VacyFair009.jpg

Mick.

Just to give some comparisons on weight of ovens I have now.

Furphy 15" - 15.8 kilos
Cabela 20" - 21 kilos
Lodge 16" - 15 kilos