Engineer and model-maker Warwick Bryce will be demonstrating his working model of James Harrison’s original 1857 ice-making machine in Geelong, Victoria, on October 20–21.
The Geelong Showgrounds Museum will showcase a collection of farming and agricultural production memorabilia during the Royal Geelong Show from October 19–23.
Harrison is known for inventing refrigeration beside the Barwon River in 1854, when he wanted to keep his fishing catch cool, and successfully applied steam power to pumping the volatile chemicals needed for the process.
Bryce has engineered a scale working model of the original (which could produce three tonnes of ice per day). He will be giving demonstrations of how it works on the hour every hour on:
- Friday, October 20 from 10am–4pm
- Saturday, October 21 from 10am–3pm.
The demonstrations are free for show attendees to watch.
Harrison’s invention assisted Geelong in becoming a UNESCO City of Design in 2017, and the show coincides with Geelong UNESCO Design Week (from October 19–29).
Image courtesy of Graham Hobbs.