Thanks for the quick reply and for the welcome.Snape wrote:Welcome aboard scavenger
Sorry I do not know about the Slater Latch but that reel is certainly bakelite and I think it is an Allcock Aerialite.
I'm sure someone more knowledgable than me will be along to answer your questions soon.
The reel was made by Stewart & Allwood, Sydney, Australia under the brand name Steelite. It was never an expensive line and reputed to be somewhat fragile because the material is brittle. But then, bakelite is brittle. Going by this example the line offered a good facility so long as it was not dropped onto a hard surface, as was very likely to happen on wet slippery rocks at the seaside.