Hi my first post This Lantern made by Nettlefolds, in Melbourne around 1940, was specifically made for the Melbourne Board of works. The owner of the lantern is a young 87 year old, who told me it was issued to his Father in 1940/41. I cleaned up the lantern, fitted a new old stock vapouriser and seals. The cage has a locating ring on the base, that holds the lantern in position and a custom shade that is held onto the cage with wing nuts. The control cock is Tilley with Tilley control nob, is this correct for a Kayan Lantern? I have never seen this cage before it is possibly the only survivor, as most people would have thrown it away. If anyone has seen another I'd be surprised.
If that date of 1940 is correct then that’s too early to be a Kayen AP2. As I understand it Kayen date from about 1945/6 so earlier lamps will have been Tilley product marketed by Kopsen and Nettlefold but I am sure the Aus guys here will know the dates better than I do though. That will mean the lamp here is a Tilley and it's quite consistent with a 1940 model Tilley EX100. The reflector shade is correct for EX100 and modified by Nettlefold with the fitting to bolt to the cage. It is certainly a well preserved and interesting lamp. ::Neil::
That's interesting, makes sense as I have a later Kayen with a brass control nob. and steel handle. Thanks for your kind responses. Great site I'll try to post some interesting finds from Aus.
@PaulH That’s a very interesting addition to the standard Kayen AP2. Thanks for posting. On the subject of Kayen lamps, it seems fairly certain that Kopsen made some complete copies of Tilley EX100 lanterns in late 1944 and then Nettlefold and Kopsen registered “Kayen” in 1945, with Kopsen tanks and Nettlefold tanks being different in their profile at the base. It is likely that both Kopsen and Nettlefold were making parts for Tilley lamps on requisition from the Department of Defence during the war years. The hex fitting to which the bail is attached indicates the tank is a Kayen, and the bail is Kayen. Cheers Tony
Welcome to CPL @PaulH A nice piece to own and it's good to have the history behind it. Without sounding nasty and speaking from experience it's possible 1940-41 could be 1944-5.
The MMBW was a state government established independent board that maintained and built water and sewage infrastructure for most of Melbourne. Back in the days before it was all privatised to make it cheaper for us.
Thanks guys, when servicing this lantern I can tell you some certainties. George the name of the owner is 87, which means he was 4 years old in 1940 and 9 years old in 1945. His father worked for the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works in and around Ringwood Vic. George tells me that Canterbury Road Ringwood, was mainly paddocks, and used to play cricket and footy on Canterbury Road. his father was issued the lantern during the war, which I understand was used at home as well. The control cock looks to be Tilley, the burner is definitely Tilley not Kayen. It is possible that the lantern was issued later 1943/44, it is also possible that repairs and replacements occurred during the working life of this lantern when operated by MMBW. Thanks for your information, the knowledge of the members is amazing, I am extremely grateful for your help in identifying this very interesting lantern and look forward to expanding my knowledge on this site, cheers.
Very impressive, I've never seen a cage like that on a Kayen AP2 or any other lamp before. From what I have seen it is not uncommon for Tilley parts to be on Kayen lamps, this maybe because parts wore out over time and Tilley parts were made much longer than Kayen parts. Kayen were only made for a relatively short time compared to Tilley. This is just my opinion others may know better than I.
Cheers, the cage I believe was specified by MMBW, it does the job of protecting the lantern, heavy duty galvanised steel wire, welded for strength. I suspect when battery/generated electric lamps were introduced this lantern was scrapped or acquired by staff, who removed the lantern from the cage for fishing camping etc. Cages were discarded and scrapped, which makes this complete example fairly unique. It is going to stay with the family, and passed on through the generations, so hopefully in 50 years the lantern may make another appearance on this site.
