I present this lantern curtesy of Bernie Holmes from TW Sands in Melbourne, Australia. It is part of his personal collection. I was in the shop and noticed on the shelf and thought it looked very interesting. The lantern has no branding at all, but has two points on the collar where a badge may once have been. Its tank is a different shape compared to other Austramax that I've seen. The Austramax posted by @Colin M here is the closest I've seen to Bernie's, but I'm not sure from the photos that it is the same. A maker's label may have been attached here. Note the cast metal spirit bowl. I spied the lantern here. A very interesting lantern. Cheers Tony
@David Shouksmith It is an early unmarked globe, but it may not be original to the lantern (though it might be). I forgot to say that Bernie picked it up on Wagga Wagga, NSW. Cheers Tony
I remember that place from the 'Flying Doctor' radio series in the '50s - pronounced 'Wogga Wogga' IIRC. I guess it's somewhere near Wollamboolie base... Edit: Sorry, it was Wollumboola Base - but not bad for 50+ years ago! Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia - Wikipedia
That is a desirable lantern. Still on my wish list. From the early advertising, it should probably have a straight sided glass. The one on it is most likely old though. I wonder if the pressure release screw is original. The hex head doesn't look right. I would guess that it had a label on the collar like the first variation of the 2/300. I was at Wagga Wagga for a couple of years in the early 80s (RAAF training), but don't remember the name Wollumboola. I wonder if it was invented for the series.
Hi Tony An interesting one for sure What I do know is the cast Aluminum preheater cup is off a Canadian Coleman 249 which first appeared in 1938 These cups however went back to 1935 and were found on model 242k and following shortly after the 247 but had a smaller gen diameter! Great find Tony !
Well spotted Matches the illustrations in 1939-41 adverts. Handi "Swift Lite" had similar pre heat cup also. Wollumboola is adjacent to Wollumboola Lake south of Shoalhaven Heads (Had to look it up myself.)
I recently had the opportunity to take some detailed photographs of this old Austramax lantern. I think this lantern is unique (so far as we've seen) and may be one of the first made. I've made notes on its interesting features. NOTE: At some stage of its life this lantern has been dropped and the top of the tank is slightly dented, giving it a list in some photographs. Note the two holes in the collar that probably had an Austramax name-plate like the one of @Nils Stephenson here. The pump has the locking device, and is held in place by two screws. Note cross-hatched knurling. The filler cap has the two bars for tightening. The pressure release screw is a well-machined hex screw. The cap nut is longer than late versions of the 2/300 and the 3/300. Note the nut on the hood screw is longer than others seen so far. The removable components. Note the aluminium pre-heater dish. The cap has no brim like the later 2/330s and 3/300. It is as illustrated in early advertisements (see below). The tank is all brass. It is wider at the base than the 2/300 and 3/300s (147mm as opposed to 138mm). It is also slightly shorter. Tee early Austramax on the left. The glass that is on this lantern is not marked and is somewhat differently shaped to the Austramax (and Coleman) bulge globe. The early advertisements show a straight-sided globe and state that the Austramax comes with a "Pyrex storm-proof chimney". The early Austramax glass on the left; stamped Austramax globe on the right. I suspect that the burner tube/flame spreader is a replacement. It is one piece like the late versions of the Austramax burner, and it has been heavily used, and abused by pliers. It came with non-standard fine mesh. I suspect that the correct burner is this one: The brass casting on the burner assembly has the number "1" on its side (see top on right). I've seen a few different numbers (at least "2", and "10" from memory). This is the only "1" I've seen. One last thing to note about this lantern. The holes in the brass burner assembly casting that take the bail are a smaller diameter than the 2/300s I've seen. The bail would have had to have been of smaller gauge steel. The lantern shown by Colin Mills here has some characteristics of this lantern, but I think that the date range of 1946-1949 is too late. The Austramax patent application was made in 1946 and an Austramax lantern from this period would have had the stamping "Pat Pend" on the tank, or "Patent Applied For" on the Austramax logo. Colin's lantern has the two holes in the collar, so most likely it had the Austramax badge like the one linked to above. The earliest advertisement for Austramax that I can uncover is December 1940. See also the link to Colin Mill's lantern above for some more discussion of early advertisements. Thanks to Nils for our discussion on this lantern. Cheers Tony
Very nicely presented Tony. Two things you didn't mention that are still a bit of a conundrum are: 1. The pressure release screw shown in the ad seems to be longer than the one fitted to this lamp. Is that just because of a bad picture or is there another variation out there? I believe Colin's example is fitted with a Coleman filler cap, so is not representative of the type. 2. The tank shape on Colin's seems to be another again. From the pictures available, it looks to be halfway between a 'normal' Austramax tank and a Coleman tank. Does anyone have contact with Colin so we could get some better pictures? We really need more examples to surface to get a better idea of this model. I am tempted to call this the 1/300, but that is probably a bit premature.
Gee some good photos there . When I get time down the track will have to check all my Austramaxs. Bob ,
@Nils Stephenson I have an Austramax 2/300 with a long(er) pressure release screw. I’ll photograph it in the morning. Tony Edit: Here is a photo of the 2/300 with a long pressure release screw: I’ll do detailed photos in the morning.
With this being ex military (and well used), anything is possible as far as interchangeable parts go. That filler cap is much too early for this variation of 2/300. I have also added some comments to the new discussion.
@Nils Stephenson I am in possession of Colin’s Austramax that you mention above. I will make some more detailed photographs of it over the weekend, and make comparison photographs to my early Austramax. One thing I did want to point out, though, is that the tank on Collin’s lantern is the same shape as all other 2/300s. Cheers Tony
Really interesting and well presented. How things evolve over the years and during wartime there must have been all sorts of material shortages. Painting instead of nickel being just one.
@Tony Press I hope it’s ok to bump this old topic to include recent events. Did you see the early Austramax that sold on an auction site a month or so ago? Interesting in that it still has the metal tag on the collar which looked to indicate that it was model ‘200’. Secondly, happy to post photos of mine if it’s useful for research (note the fount is not as tall as my 2/300 and it has a Coleman bulge globe).
Thank you, @kero-scene. Yes, I did see that one on the bay of evil — it ended up in a good home. I reckon it will make an appearance here soon. I’d like to see yours next time I’m in your part of the world. Where did you find it? Tony
I got it recently from a local auction site with a bundle of other old lamps and lanterns. It was an estate auction for a nearby rural property. I’ll record the details in case it’s of interest.
Indeed it’s of interest where you got it from. The “trail” of where these early Austramax are being discovered points to their origin. It’s a story I’m looking at with some other colleagues. Thanks for your post. Tony
