Being new to this whole collecting camp ovens thing (in fact I don't actually have a cast camp oven so am not collecting at all but will be keeping an eye out now) I have been reading these history pages with interest as I find Australian steel manufacturing a great piece of our history.  I do a bit of woodwork for example and collect Titan Chisels and Turner Planes because of this interest (and they are great to use).

I find it really interesting that the Australian camp ovens that I have read about here such as Hardings, Meters and E&G are really not that old and most seem to be post 1960 by which stage most Australian houses were fitted with wood ovens.  The period from the turn of the century up until this date was when there was pretty much a blacksmith and foundry in every town and droving and the transient bush lifestyle was probably at it's peak.  Why are there no iconic camp ovens around from this period?  Camp ovens are certainly mentioned as something every bushman had in books such as Tom Coles hell West and Crooked.

Maybe I have missed something?

Burnsy
Keep reading as there is a lot of history in these pages. If you come across an Albion oven it will be 100+ years as the Albion foundry in Maryborough Qld closed in 1910. United Metal Industries (UMI) started up in Brisbane about this time. I think Noah had a set of Furphy ovens on the Ark.
LogFire

Metters too, go back to about the 20's & 30's

Cheers, Mick.

LogFire wrote on May 8^th, 2011 at 6:38am:

Burnsy Keep reading as there is a lot of history in these pages. If you come across an Albion oven it will be 100+ years as the Albion foundry in Maryborough Qld closed in 1910. United Metal Industries (UMI) started up in Brisbane about this time. I think Noah had a set of Furphy ovens on the Ark. LogFire

I thought this was the case but the Furphy thred seems to indicate the oldest Furphies were made in the 1970's.  No real dates in the metters thread other than them being over 65 years old and I must admit I have not to reading about Albions yet.
I will keep reading :)

Burnsy wrote on May 7^th, 2011 at 11:39pm:

I find it really interesting that the Australian camp ovens that I have read about here such as Hardings, Meters and E&G are really not that old and most seem to be post 1960

I have an old Metters catalog dated 1910 and it shows the complete metters camp oven range along with sizes and weights. Albion is also another Aussie icon in the camp oven world that were produced at the turn of last century and A Simpson & Son is another that springs to mind.
Astro.