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103Whether you were knocking up a spag bol, reheating cold pizza, removing mouse droppings from the grill or lighting a ciggy off the hob, these workhorses could handle the lot.In the 1990s, it felt like every share house I lived in had an upright Simpson stove. Whether you were knocking up a spag bol, reheating cold pizza, removing mouse droppings from the grill or lighting a ciggy o%u00a0 the hob, these workhorses could handle the lot.The various models all traced their lineage back to the Karumba, which rolled (or were pushed) out of the Simpson factory in South Australia in the early 1970s. Adelaide had become a sizeable manufacturing hub, and Simpson, well regarded for their whitegoods, took advantage of new technologies used in the local car industry to make products that became famous for their reliability.An all-in-one upright stove may seem quaint in a world of butler%u2019s pantries and over-the-top appliance integration, but these things were robust and dependable, and they were made to last. Although Australians are famed for our %u2018she%u2019ll be%u00a0right%u2019 attitude, the teams behind these Australian-made products took pride in the quality of their work, and problem-solving became a badge of honour.It wasn%u2019t just about practicality; the Karumba was all about good looks, too. Simpson hired%u00a0 %u2018colour%u2019 consultant Frank McCarthy to choose the colours for the control panel and, in a shock twist for the 1970s, he selected gold, brown and black.But alas, like a tuna mornay left out on the bench in summer, things can%u2019t stay the same forever. By 2000, Simpson had been acquired by Electrolux, and the brand was simply added to the range of whitegoods manufactured overseas before being eventually retired in 2022.Google %u2018Simpson Karumba%u2019 today and all you%u2019ll get is Bart Simpson, but no search engine can ever tell us the story of lamb chops on fire under the grill, the joy of pulling a roast out of the oven, or show us the beauty of pumpkin soup splattered across Frank McCarthy%u2019s famed gold, brown and black control panel.YEAR 1973DESIGNER Simpson design team with Nielsen Design AssociatesMANUFACTURER Simpson