The Australian Building Business During WWII

Article Written By: Mike Hindmarsh

After the declaration of war in September 1939 house construction went through a period of decreasing activity. But it did not drop to its minimal level until February 1942 when National Security Regulations posed severe restrictions.

Private building ceased in many areas and was limited in others. However, under the War Housing Program, state and commonwealth authorities did continue with essential housing, such as that needed for munitions workers and their families.

Clear indication of the degree of change is seen in the official statistics. More than 40000 new homes were built throughout Australia in the financial year 1938-39, but in 1942-1943 there were fewer than 4000.'

In the editorial of the Australian Home Beautiful for January 1942, we read of conditions up to that time. Building restrictions, at the moment of writing, limit expenditure on new domestic buildings to 3000 and on renovations to 250; but conditions grow harder week by week. In spite of this, a great deal of new and interesting building is being carried on over a widespread area and this will continue as long as materials are available.

War in Europe and North Africa was distant enough for Australia to seem relatively secure. With the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, and their inexorable advance in our direction, any remaining complacency evaporated.

A. V. Jennings, the well-known construction company founded in 1932, continued building houses on its construction within 25 miles (40 km) of the Melbourne GPO as well as restrictions on the transfer of land brought development of the estate to a halt.

As early as May 1941 wartime conditions had begun to cause shortages of building materials and dwindling sales. In that month A.V. Jennings advertised seventeen villa sites and seven business sites, all lots to include, electricity, gas, sewerage, roads, paths and crossings.'

Of the 121 residential blocks, fifty-nine houses had been completed by the beginning of 1942. They were typical of the well-built, double-brick houses constructed by Jennings over the previous decade. Beauview Estate was in a very attractive elevated area with panoramic views and a mere six-and-a-half miles (10.50 km) from the city.

In 1942, with home building now at a standstill, A.V. Jennings averted complete disaster with the sale of all unsold blocks on the estate to the large Melbourne estate agency T.M. Burke. As a company Jennings actually gathered strength through the challenges offered by wartime government construction contracts, so that when it returned to housing on a large scale in the mid-1950s it was able to regain and extend its early reputation in the domestic field.

Brick houses of the type built by A.V Jennings between 1932 and 1942 were basically conservative in their design when compared with the few examples of International Modern built at the same time. Some of the forms or details suggested the continuing popularity of `Spanish Mission' or `Old English', but generally, there was a tendency toward a common sense functionalism with easily maintained surfaces, modern kitchens, hot-water services reticulated to five or six points, internal toilets and many other features taken for granted by generations.

About the Author

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