shinobi500 t1_ism8z6c wrote on October 17, 2022 at 1:01 AM

Reply to comment by knoxknifebroker in TIL that before the invention of regfrigeration in 1851, ice had to be imported to Australia from Boston, Massachusetts. The ice blocks travelled through the tropics inside ships insulated with timber, straw, peat, and sawdust by stumcm

Interesting. Ice must have been a total luxury commodity back then.

worldbound0514 t1_ismxzp9 wrote on October 17, 2022 at 4:28 AM

There's a saying that the rich man gets his ice in the summer, and the poor man gets his ice in the winter. Ice was very much a luxury in the summer time before the days of refrigeration

PublicSeverance t1_isnj48b wrote on October 17, 2022 at 9:05 AM

Ice and ice boxes almost as soon as invented became about as luxurious as a dishwasher is today.

Imported ice cost about as much as cotton. It was relatively cheap, even transported.

A man with a horse drawn cart would deliver blocks of ice to your house weekly, or you got it from the butcher, fishmonger or chemist. The ice blocks would get placed in the top of your fridge and allow the home owner to store leftovers. Before the ice box, fresh food had to be purchased and eaten same day.

TocTheEternal t1_ismgzvu wrote on October 17, 2022 at 2:02 AM

If it was 240 tons over a period of decades, it could probably have been used for minor industrial and artisanal purposes that weren't strictly high class luxury. That's a lot of ice and it's not like Perth had a huge population overall.