Ninja Pirate Books

Often described in the post WWII years as `the housing shortage’, the Australian effort to fix a very troubling problem has in time come to be called `the housing boom’. Without a doubt it was a boom in demand and building. There was also a notable increase in house 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 social engineering was at first on rental accommodation; later there was a swing toward the sale of budget houses. At a time when various factors had reduced the availability of rental homes, 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 rise in construction costs.

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

To keep both labourer and tradie economically employed the builder needed a continuous flow of materials which was a rare event in those times. A shortage of skilled workers also meant lower quality work 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 salaries to ensure building completion.

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

With locally made 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 material had, by 1948, increased 100 per cent in price. Cement had risen by almost 20 per cent and clay roofing tiles by more than 25 per cent. A gallon of first-grade paint costing around 30s ($3) in 1939 had risen some 40 per cent by 1948.

When added to rising costs and shortages of materials the government restrictions, limiting the area of a new dwelling to 12 squares (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 design modesty.

The economical floor plan was essential; cost-saving and limitations on area made large single-purpose rooms a luxury. Verandahs and generous porches were deleted, 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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