ADF News

Sometimes described in the post-war years as `the housing shortage’, the national effort to address a very troubling issue has in time come to be called `the housing boom’. Without a doubt it was a boom in demand and activity. There was also a marked increase in home ownership, achieved in many cases through heroic individual effort and years of sacrifice.

Changing social attitudes offered new opportunities, but also reduced the choices. Emphasis in state housing plans was at first on rental accommodation; later there was a swing toward the sale of low-cost houses. At a time when various influencers had cut the amount of rental dwellings, governments, banks, finance companies, building societies and housing co-ops were offering more opportunities for home ownership. Ironically this was at a time of a jump in building input costs.

High on the list of factors linked to rising building costs were the passing of legislation for the 40-hour week, and steep increases in the cost of construction materials. By 1948 an employer had to pay an unskilled building labourer a higher wage than a tradesman had received in early 1946.

To keep both labourer and tradesman productively employed the builder needed a continuous flow of materials which was a rare occurrence during this period. Lack of skilled workers also meant poor quality construction and a blow out in construction time.

Contract prices were loaded with an increasing profit margin as an insurance against unseen circumstances. Under commonwealth price control, builders were entitled to a 10 per cent `profit’ on the contract price. Above award payments were not recognised in price control and yet builders often found a need to pay above award rates to ensure a reasonable output.

Unexpected costs could arise when, for example, timber flooring was suddenly unprocurable, and a higher price would then have to be paid for imported Baltic flooring.

With local cement taking forever to turn up, a truckload from interstate was sometimes purchased at nearly three times the price. When compared to 1939 prices timber flooring had, by 1948, increased 100 per cent in value. Cement had risen by almost 20 per cent and terracotta roofing tiles by more than 25 per cent. A gallon of first-grade paint costing around 30s ($3) in 1939 had risen by 40 per cent by 1948.

When added to rising costs and shortages of materials the government restrictions, limiting the area of a new home to 1200 square feet (111.48 square metres) for a timber house and 1250 square feet (116.12 square metres) for a brick house, completed the recipe for an imposed cost-cutting.

The economical plan was essential; cost-saving and limitations on area made large single-purpose rooms a luxury. Verandahs and generous porches disappeared, reducing the shade at the front of the house to a minimum area. Ceiling heights had been slowly reduced from the turn of the century and were now typically nine feet (2745 mm). Until the government construction restrictions were lifted in 1952 the acceptance of no-nonsense functionalism was as much a mandated state as it was a fashionable philosophy. This was the era of the great Australian Dream.

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