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Often 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’. Undoubtedly it was a boom in demand and building. There was also a notable increase in home 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 government housing social engineering was at first on rental dwellings; later there was a swing toward the ownership of budget housing. At a time when various factors had cut the availability of rental houses, governments, banks, finance companies, building societies and housing co-ops were offering more opportunities for home ownership. Ironically this was paralleled by a rise in construction input costs.

High on the list of factors linked to rising building costs were the passing of legislation for the 40-hour working week, and drastic increases in the cost of building materials. By 1948 an employer had to pay an unskilled building labourer a higher salary than a tradesman 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 occurrence in those times. Lack 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 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 wages to ensure a reasonable output.

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

With local cement taking forever to turn up, a batch from interstate was sometimes contracted 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 clay roofing tiles by more than 25 per cent. A gallon of first-grade paint costing around 30s ($3) in 1939 had risen at least 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 austerity.

The economical floor plan was essential; cost-saving and limitations on area made large single-purpose rooms a luxury. Verandahs and generous porches disappeared, reducing the shelter at the front of the house to a minimum area. Ceiling heights had been gradually 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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