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The Baby Boom
Thousands of servicemen and women returned home after the war to resume their lives and start families. Following a rush of marriages and babies after 1945, Australia's birth rate increased rapidly. More than four million Australians were born between 1946 and 1961 - people born during these years are now called ' baby boomers'. whole new suburbs were built to accommodate these new families and Australia's major cities quickly expanded -
The Housing Boom
Following the End of WWII, Australia experienced a major housing boom. it was fuelled by a marked population increase and the pursuit of a new aussie dream: to own a home in the suburbs. The rate of hime ownership increased from around 40 percent in 1947 to over 70 percent in 1960 and sparked a massive phase of building and constuction in Australia. -
A New Building Styles
The Design was simple and economical - most homes were built without features like verandahs and fireplaces and two - storey houses were very rare. -
Immigration influx
The progamme was a huge success and by 1955 over one million new migrants had settled in Australia. Many came from the United Kingdom and Ireland, but for the first time, thousands poured in from other European countries like Greece, Italy, Hungary and Yugosalvia -
Home expansion
In the 1960s, continuing affluence and cheaper building technology meant that Australians could afford to pay for bigger homes. The addition of second bathrooms and extra bedrooms became common -
Environmental housing
In 1974, the global oil crisis prompted public concern about energy consumption and environmentally-conscious housing options became more common throughout the decade. A house in the suburbs was no longer the automatic choice for some Australians. Many people moved to the bush and experimented with natural materials like mud brick, straw bales and raw timber and there was a focus on materials and architecture that blended into the surrounding landscape. New, energy efficient housing was being de -
Renovation and revitalisation
The 1980s saw a revitalisation of Australian cities, as many people moved to restore old, worn-out houses in areas previously regarded as slums. In the years immediately following WWII, many European migrants had settled in what were then cheap, dilapidated inner city houses. The subsequent establishment of European cafés, delicatessens and other forms of street life gave inner city suburbs a new vibrancy and city areas eventually became more attractive places to live. -
Urban sprawl
The 'great Australian dream' of owning a house in the suburbs was still alive and well in the final decade of the 20th century. As a result, urban sprawl continued unabated throughout the 1990s, as hundreds of thousands of new homes were built at the edge of Australia's major cities. The proportion of people living in Australian capital cities had increased from 40 percent in 1910, to 65 percent in 1999. -
House design
Suburban houses in the 1990s tended to become larger, with fewer people living in them. In the mid-1990s the average home was estimated to hold 2.5 more rooms per resident than was the case in the year 1900. Front and backyards decreased in size as houses took up more room on the block and living areas were extended.
