Ninja Pirate Books

Sometimes described in the post WWII years as `the housing shortage’, the Australian effort to address a very troubling problem has over the years come to be called `the housing boom’. Without a doubt it was a boom in demand and building. There was also a marked increase in house ownership, achieved in many cases through heroic individual effort and years of sacrifice.

Changing social conditions offered new opportunities, but also narrowed the choices. Emphasis in state housing schemes was at first on rental dwellings; later there was a swing toward the ownership of affordable houses. At a time when various influencers had cut the amount of rental homes, governments, banks, finance companies, building societies and housing co-operatives were offering a wider range of opportunities for home ownership. Ironically this was paralleled by a jump in building input costs.

Top 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 worker a higher salary than a tradesperson had received in early 1946.

To keep both labourer and tradesman economically employed the builder needed a continuous flow of materials which was a rare occurrence during this period. Lack of skilled workers also meant lower quality construction and further loss of time.

Contract prices were loaded with an increasing profit margin as an insurance against unseen contingencies. 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 timber for flooring.

With local cement taking forever to turn up, a delivery from interstate was sometimes bought at nearly three times the price. When compared to 1939 prices timber flooring 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 1200 square feet (111.48 square metres) for a timber house and 1250 square feet (116.12 square metres) for one in brick, completed the recipe for an imposed cost-cutting.

The economical plan was necessary; 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 an imposed state as it was a fashionable philosophy. This was the era of the great Australian Dream.

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