Frederick Metters (14 May 1858 – 25 September 1937) was an ironworker, founder of the

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

n company which became

Metters Limited Metters was a brand of stoves and ovens made by Metters & Company, an Australian company established in Adelaide in 1891 by Frederick Metters (1858–1937), who patented and manufactured a number of kitchen appliances notably the 'top-fire' woo ...

, of South Australia,

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, known for domestic and industrial cooking ovens and other cooking equipment, and for windpumps. Two of his brothers earlier founded a similarly named company in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

known for domestic and industrial cooking ovens. Metters Bros Wood Fired Ovens Advert circa 1890s

History

Fred Metters was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

the eighthJoyce Gibberd, 'Metters, Frederick (Fred) (1858–1937)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/metters-frederick-fred-13097/text23695, published first in hardcopy 2005, accessed online 5 January 2017. son of James Metters (c. 1821 – 2 October 1881), a bricklayer from

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

who specialized in setting ovens and cooking ranges, and his wife Susan Metters, née Flux (c. 1824 – 4 July 1875), from the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

, who arrived in Victoria some time before December 1854. He was associated with his brothers Charles Henry Metters (c. 1853–1929) and John Thomas Metters (c. 1853–1924) who traded as "Metters Bros." of Melbourne. They had business premises at

Lonsdale Street Lonsdale Street is a main street and thoroughfare in the city centre of Melbourne, Australia. It runs roughly east–west and was laid out in 1837 as one of Melbourne's original boundaries within the Hoddle Grid. The street extends from Sp ...

east before 1884, at 269 Post Office Place near

Swanston Street Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is one of the main streets of the Melbourne central business district and was laid out in 1837 as part of the original Hoddle Grid. The street vertically ...

in 1890, then Elizabeth Street selling stoves and ovens to the Victorian market. By 1890 they were also manufacturing to their own designs on the "Leamington" pattern with their foundry and factory at 83 Buncle Street,

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at the ...

. The two brothers dissolved their partnership on 6 October 1910, leaving J. T. Metters as sole proprietor. The company was still manufacturing and trading as "Metters Bros." in 1935. Fred Metters patented an improved design for wood stoves in South Australia in 1891. He established a factory on Victoria Square around that time, and a factory between Norman Street and

Henley Beach Road Currie Street is a main street in the Adelaide city centre, South Australia.Map
of the

West Adelaide before 1894. The "top fire" design had a full-width cast-iron hob directly over the fire, with recessed circular inserts which could be removed when the cook wanted the flames directly onto the base of the pan. Once the fire was properly alight, the upper flue would be closed, so the heat of the flames would be drawn down past the oven and hot-water tank before escaping up the chimney. About 15,000 ovens were sold in South Australia alone. Models included the popular "Metters Improved No. 2", as well as the "Barossa", "Beacon Light", "Bega", "Dover", "New Improved", "Royal" and "Wilga". All patternmaking, casting, finishing, machining, enamelling (only the second factory in the colony after A. Simpson & Son to succeed in this demanding art), sheet metal work and assembly was done "in house". By 1902 some 200 employees in Adelaide and Perth were producing 600 ovens per month. ;Western Australia Metters established a factory in Essex Street,

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

, around 1891, and in 1894 took premises in Wellington Street, opposite the

Western Australian Government Railways Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) was the operator of railway services in the state of Western Australia between October 1890 and June 2003. Owned by the state government, it was renamed a number of times to reflect extra responsi ...

goods shed. Around this time began his association with Henry Langdon Spring (c. 1863 – 21 April 1937), newly arrived from London, whom he later took on as a partner. He established a foundry in Perth before 1907. ;New South Wales In 1902 Metters opened a showroom at 90 Bathurst Street and a factory in Alice Street, Newtown, where stoves were assembled from parts made in Adelaide, but that proved impractical and a foundry was established at

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

so their stoves could be manufactured locally. By 1907 Metters had a showroom on George Street, opposite St Andrew's Cathedral, advertising stoves made from locally produced iron. Models manufactured here were "Beacon Light", "Bega", "Canberra", "Capitol", "Crawford", "Dover", "Early Kooka", "Edford", "Empress", "Herald", "Improved", "New Royal", "Newcastle", "Regina", "Royal", "Samson" and "Shearer" wood stoves. In 1907 a company

was founded to take over the assets of the business from Frederick Metters and embarked on an expansion and modernization program.

Other activities

He was one of those who represented Western Australia at the Interstate Tariff Conference in 1900. In 1908 Metters and his son Frederick Hubert Metters purchased from Burton and J. Snodgrass ( –1913) a sizeable property above

Morgan, South Australia Morgan is a town in South Australia on the right bank of the Murray River, just downstream of where it turns from flowing roughly westwards to roughly southwards. It is about north east of Adelaide, and about upstream of the Murray Mouth. At th ...

which they named "Murray View", and there built a house and established a substantial grove of oranges, as well as other fruits, Doradillo grapes,

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible Seed, seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small ...

s and

lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

. Sometime before 1920 the property was put in the hands of a company, in which F. H. Metters had a substantial interest.

Family

James Metters (c. 1821 – 2 October 1881) was married to Susan Metters, née Flux (c. 1824 – 4 July 1875), and had perhaps eight sons and one daughter. They lived at 78 Little Lonsdale Street east. James married a second time, to Sarah Ellen Gouldthorpe (c. 1830 – 4 February 1882) on 1 June 1876, and lived at Bradford Cottage, Albert Road, Albert Park. *Louisa Metters (c. 1844 – 24 February 1872) married James Wade, lived in Melbourne *Eldest son James William Metters (c. 1852 – 28 February 1884) *Second son Charles Henry Metters (c. 1853 – 22 March 1929) married Lucy Ellen Royal (c. 1852 – 9 November 1908) on 8 November 1875, lived at Alfred Street, North Melbourne. They had a daughter and two sons. *John Thomas Metters (c. 1853 – 7 May 1924) married Mary Ann Orr ( – 11 August 1936), lived at 20 Westgarth Street,

Fairfield, Victoria Fairfield is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Darebin and Yarra local government areas. Fairfield recorded a population of 6,535 at the 2021 census. ...

. They had a large family. *Frederick Metters (14 May 1858 – 25 September 1937) married Francis Fisher (c. 1860 – 1 February 1923) on 8 October 1883. Their family included: :*Frederick Hubert Metters (18 July 1884 – 27 August 1954) married Lorna Christina "Crissie" Rees ( – 12 January 1946) on 18 July 1906, lived at Murray View, where he and his father established an orange grove. ::*Frederick Rees Metters (1907–) married Melba Evelyn Lehmann on 7 May 1932 ::*Ronald Murray Metters (5 July 1912 – ) :*Stanley Harry Metters (1886–1960) married Gladys Irene Smith ( –1938) in 1912 :*Doris Mabel Metters (1892–1962) married James Murray Merrifield ( – ) in 1921, lived at Nadda, South Australia :*Alma Gwendoline Metters (1896– ) married Lauris Hedley Maddern (1896–1961) in 1922, lived at Monash, South Australia :*Harold Sidney Metters ( – 1957) married Jessie Louise Randell (1887–1932) on 1916. Jessie was a daughter of Capt. W. B. Randell (1856–1917). ::*David Finlayson Metters (1919–) ::*John Raymond Metters (1920–) ::*Bruce Dudley Metters (1922–) *Rev. Alfred Metters (c. 1863 – 1 March 1918) married Ottilie Caroline Strempel ( – 18 September 1953) on 29 August 1888. They had four children

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Metters, Frederick 1858 births 1937 deaths Australian manufacturing businesspeople Businesspeople from Melbourne Australian people of Cornish descent Australian ironmasters 19th-century Australian businesspeople 20th-century Australian businesspeople