Meeting Housing Demands In South Australia

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31333, 1 April 1967, Page 5

Meeting Housing Demands In South Australia

(Specially written for “The Press” by

MARY WOODWARD)

TN its early days the Government of South Australia had a reputation 1 for progress. It granted the vote to women before New Zealand, began the first free secondary education in Australia, and established communal settlements on the Murray.

Somewhere along the line this political liveliness petered out, and today social services in general do not measure up to what is taken for granted in New Zealand. Housing is the notable exception, thanks to the work of the South Australian Housing Trust.

Our family was helped by the trust when we first arrived in Adelaide. Within 10 days, thanks to an arrangement made between the trust and the university, we were offered a comfortable three-bedroomed house at a modest rental, near the new Flinders University.

The area was hemmed in by the huge Chrysler plant and the main south road, but the development was planned so that everything was close at hand and the children did not have to cross a busy road to get to school or to buy an ice-cream.

Opposite us some fine “Darby and Joan” flats were being erected by the trust for the Returned Services’ League. Once they were completed, the Australian flag was raised every morning, giving a patriotic flavour to the entire neighbourhood. -

In a week or so I was visited by a social worker, who would have helped us with our problems if necessary. The trust is a flourishing institution now. and in the last year it has completed more than 3000 houses and received nearly £5 million in rent. But its beginnings in the bad times of the 1930 s were somewhat tentative.

Unemployment in South Australia at that time rose to nearly 26 per cent of wageearners, and thousands of settlers left the State. Housebuilding was at a standstill, and land quite near the city of Adelaide could not be sold although it was available "merely for what is owing in rates.” There was plenty of argument about getting things moving again.' Mining and primary industry did not seem to offer much chance of expansion—so the problem was how to attract secondary industry. Mr J. G. Wainwright, the Auditor-General, suggested that if secondary industry were to be fostered in South Australia, the way to do it was to keep the cost of living lower than in Melbourne and Sydney. “The item of cost which can most easily and equitably be kept at a reasonable cost is rent, and rent forms at present about 25 per cent of the total cost of living of families on low incomes.” Attracting Industry If industry could be attracted, he said, “by judicious Government guarantees to suitable enterprises,” the State could turn the unemployed into “independent people with money to spend.” It was mainly with this object in mind—to reduce the cost of living by keeping rents low, and so attract secondary industry to the State—that the Premier, Mr Butler, introduced a bill to establish the trust in 1936. His approach was cautious. “It is much better to' start on right lines than to commit big blunders in a big way. If we commit blunders in a small way it does not do much harm.” Another member quoted the inspiring passage he had seen engraved on a building erected by the Co-operative Union of Milan, and ascribed to Mazzini: “It is in the home that the child, between the father’s caress and the mother’s kiss, learns the first lesson of citizenship.” But most discussion centred on the practical aspects. Would a housing trust work? What was the record of similar groups in other states? Could not private enterprise, or the State Bank, do the job better?

After some delay the bill was passed, and as the South

Australian Housing Trust Act, 1936, provided for both the humanitarian and the industrial hopes of the sponsors. It set up a body with six members, ail appointed by the Governor, with power to extend and develop bousing within the State. Some houses were to be erected as a social service, and lowinterest loans were later made available under a Commonwealth State Housing Agreement for these. Other houses were to bring in an economic rental or to be offered for sale—a different type of loan, from banking organisations, is used for this work. The trust does not require to this day any Government subsidy, but meets all its commitments from rents. Social Services The trust’s work on social service projects is impressive. One of the most worth while is to provide cottage flats for the elderly. Rents are adjusted according to circumstances; some flats are let by the trust while others, like the block we saw, are sold to organisations. In recent years the trust has concentrated on helping women living alone, as they have been considered the greatest single housing problem. Specially-designed flats provide separate bed-sitting rooms and kitchens for the women, with shared bathroom and laundry. If tenants are able to work them, small back gardens are provided in the development of the flats for the elderly, but otherwise paths, gardens and lawns are laid and looked after by the trust’s gardeners. Suitable houses are built for paraplegics to help in their rehabilitation. Flats have been built with ramps and other sensible modifications for erippled and blind people. Houses are provided for deserted wives and for “problem families," who may apply for a reduction in rent if finance gets out of hand. Two social workers are employed to visit and help these families. There are also a number of experienced workers to visit every new family in a trust house—sometimes their help is needed with big problems, most times they just provide a “friendly ear” for the newcomer.

Houses For Aborigines Houses for aborigines are built in country towns for the Department of Aboriginal Affairs. The department buys the houses and lets them to selected aboriginal families as part of an assimilation programme which is apparently working well, in spite of some initial white opposition. There has been a great deal of criticism lately of the type of housing available on aboriginal reserves; in fact, the “humpies” in which many people exist hardly merit the term of “housing.” However, the trust is now providing components of an economical

kind of house for erection on the reserves. An attempt has also been made recently to improve slum areas within the city. The trust has done some slum clearance and development, and 66 modern twostorey flats have been built. But there have not been sufficient funds to work on a large scale, because of the problem of rehousing the families displaced when the slums are demolished. In the country, a rental grant scheme provides housing at a rate related to the family income. Holding Staff A rental-purchase scheme has helped young people, deposit and repayment are moderate the minimum deposit is about £5O and the weekly repayment of £4 to £5 is not a large sum when about £2O is considered a minimum wage. Understandably, there are more applicants to buy or rent trust houses than the trust can accommodate. Some tenants living near us thought it unfair that university people, who are comfortably off compared with most, should be offered houses so quickly. “Ordinary folks have to wait years,” we were told. But the arrangement with the university is regarded as one way of helping to attract and hold staff—a subject of perennial concern in all universities.

This need is even more important in industry. Soon after the Housing Trust Act was passed, many new industrial projects were begun—in the south-east of the State, at Fort Adelaide, and at Whyalla. Sir Thomas Playford came to power as Premier in 1938, and pushed the claims of the State vigorously and successfully. The work of the trust in providing housing for workers was an added inducement to investors. “In many cases,” states the most recent report of the trust, “the provision of housing has been a prerequisite to the establishment or extension of the industry concerned. To suit the requirements of the particular industry, small to large numbers of houses, up to in some cases several hundreds, have been built in the past year.” Many Towns Helped More than 30 towns have been helped in as' many years by Housing Trust building. Whyalla, on the Spencer Gulf, has more than 3000 houses built for workers in the shipbuilding yards and the steelworks the big Broken Hill Proprietary. Whyalla is the dispatch point for iron ore from the Middlebank Ranges and a blast furnace has operated since 1941. Tidal flats have been drained, a large artificial harbour blasted and dredged, and five shipbuilding' yards and a fittingout dock were in operation by 1941. These developments were hastened by the war, but the shipyards and steelworks have expanded recently and housing activity has accelerated to meet the demand.

At Christies Beach, 15 miles south of Adelaide, housing has been provided for workers at the new oil

refineries erected by Standard and Vacuum Oil. The township, planned by the trust, spreads over a fine headland with a clear view down the lovely Gulf of St. Vincent The lack of trees and the dry surrounding bills makes everything look rather barren to a New Zealand eye. But trees have been planted and a park has been landscaped in the town Looking out from the centre of the park is a striking piece of statuary, depicting two gaunt aboriginal figures engaged in the rites to produce the rain so needed in their hard struggle for survival. The sculptor was the design architect of the Housing Trust, Mr G. R. Shedley. Industrial Estates The most interesting, concentrated and extensive trust building has been done at Elizabeth, 20 miles north of Adelaide. The town was begun in 1955, partly as a dormitory suburb, partly as a self-sufficient unit to check urban sprawl. Over the years, two thriving industrial estates have grown up, con- . taining a variety of types of factories—46 manufacturing 1 companies are listed. But , the motor industry employs 1 most workers, especially the General Motors-Holden plant, i and lately this has shown up a fault in the town. When 1 factories lay off workers, as has been done recently in the motor industry, there are not 1 many alternative jobs avail- ! able in the district, and men ■ on small unemployment bene- 1 fits cannot afford trips to the 1 city to look for work else- 1 where. At present there is i considerable hardship in the 1 town for this reason. * There is a lot on the credit ' side, however, and Elizabeth ' seems a good example of the : pleasant effect of proper planning and lay-out. The general : area is dry plain. On our first visit, at the end of the ' dry summer months, we drove through dead brown fields for miles, feeling like Captain Sturt, and expecting to find desert proper very soon, so that the trees and parks of Elizabeth had an oasis quality for us. Everyone buying a house at Elizabeth is given six shrubs from the trust’s nursery to encourage them to establish a garden, and planting has also been done faithfully in special ; areas of parkland and along ■ all the streets. Basic Design The basic design is of 12 neighbourhood units, each designed for 4000 to 6000 people. Each unit has its own shopping area. In the town centre are hotels, two good theatres —one suitable for producing plays—and a hospital. The main shopping area has been carefully planned, and the main road skirts it so that there is no fast traffic past the shops, and parking problems are solved. The most pleasant surprise are the statues and fountains. Near the main centre, at Windsor Green, is a beautiful fountain and lilypond, unveiled by the Queen when she first visited Elizabeth in 1963. Bronze figures and animals are sculptured on an lift slab of granite, and the complete sculpture is intended to represent the elements of water, fire and earth. Near the city centre are two life-sized bronzes presented by the people of Hemel Hampstead in England. The Vitality of these figures makes the sculpture particularly striking. In the 30 years the trust has been operating, it seems to have combined effeient management, a social conscience, and a regard for the ; arts with practical work to ; attract and help industry. Its ’ sponsors would be well pleased.