Canberra houses through the decades: a fascinating step back in time

Ah, Canberra. Our beautiful home and one of only a handful of cities across the world planned and built for a very specific purpose. As the capital, we were designed to showcase the best of what Australia was and could be.

From the stone homes of the area's first white-settled properties in the mid-1800s to the homes of today, it's estimated 160,000 dwellings have been built to house the residents of Canberra.

Let us take you on a journey through the homes of our glorious city, across the decades.

The 1900s: Tents and hessian bag walls

In March 1909, the initial camp for men surveying the area was established at the foothills of Kurrajong Hill (now known as Capital Hill and home to Parliament House).

When workers arrived in 1910 to make the city's first bricks and light its streets, camps were set up near key work areas across the capital, including at The Brickyards (later renamed Yarralumla), The Power House (Kingston), and the Cotter River. Camps were divided into accommodation for single men and married men.

The majority of single men lived in tents measuring 8 by 10 feet, with two men per tent. Urinals were makeshift trenches dug into the ground, and a mattress was generally a bale of straw enclosed in hessian bags.

Married men built their own cottages using sapling frames and galvanised iron for the roof. Each home had a fireplace and earth floors. Many men repurposed old hessian cement bags, which, when opened and moistened, made excellent wind barriers for the walls. The exterior walls were whitewashed, while the interior was covered with pasted paper for added insulation.

The 1920s: Oliphant brings the glamour

The first auctions of residential and business land in Canberra occurred on 12 December 1924, with blocks available at Ainslie, Blandfordia (Forrest), Civic, Eastlakes (Kingston), Manuka and Red Hill. In attendance that day was an entrepreneurial woman named Helen Brankenreg.

The auctions led to the first privately-funded homes being built in Kingston, the Brackenreg Cottages. The homes had tiled rooves, front verandahs, high ceilings and made from rendered brick. 

By 1927, the building industry in Canberra was booming and some of our most notable buildings were constructed; including The Lodge and the Sydney building.

The grand homes rising in the inner south and north were unlike the humble homes that housed the capital's labourers. New homes were designed by architect Kenneth Oliphant, under the employment of the firm of Oakley & Parkes, which had won a Commonwealth competition to design homes for senior public servants at Blandfordia (Forrest).

Oliphant was influenced by the Mediterranean style and incorporated terracotta tiles, wrought iron framed balconies, earth coloured rough-stucco walls and shuttered windows into the homes.

The 1930 and 40s: We need homes, and fast

In the decades following, prefab cottages were brought in to keep up with the demand for housing in the burgeoning capital. This included the Tocumwal Cottages, two- and three-bedroom cottages trucked in from Tocumwal, NSW, to Canberra in the late 1940s.

The homes were originally located on the banks of the Murray River at Tocumwal, a purpose-built RAAF base during WWII. When the war ended, more than 200 of the cottages were demounted and transported by road to Canberra for re-establishment in the "greatest mass movement of houses in the Commonwealth’s history". Most were set up in O'Connor but a few made it to other suburbs of the capital.

When the cottages arrived in Canberra, construction was simple: footings were laid on brick courses and finished in weatherboard to windowsill height. The homes had fibro sheeting between timber windows, and came without ceilings or internal lining.

The 1950s: Public housing and modernism

By the 1950s, Canberra was growing faster than any city in the country and the first medium density public housing was built, the Currong Flats. At the time, the flats were the city’s tallest building and provided fully self-contained units for single or dual occupancy: an improvement from the shared living accommodation provided in hostels.

The 1950s also saw brutal modernist architecture brought to the bush capital by Italian architect Enrico Taglietti. Flat-lined rooves, huge windows and spaces built specifically for entertaining by senior public servants, were incorporated into homes that were way more spacious and spectacular than the modest Australian fibro houses popular at the time. 

Canberra’s infamous Benjamin (Round) House, designed by Alex Jelinek, was built in 1957. Based on the Pythagorean spiral, the house unfurled outwards, anchored by cylindrical glass and Queensland mahogany. It boasted large plates of glass overlooking the Brindabellas and stunning built-in cabinetry. Former resident Roger Benjamin's book Growing up Modern: Canberra's Round House and Jelinek captures Canberra's obsession with the house at the time.

The 1960s: Ensuites and exposed beams reign supreme

The Northbourne Housing Group launched in 1962, designed by architect Sydney Ancher. It consisted of 169 dwellings in five different styles, and lined Northbourne Avenue. Hiding behind the group on Canberra's 'main street' were the suburbs of Dickson and Lyneham.

While the group was cohesive in its post-war style of smooth textures, sharp geometric lines and pale colours, the collection of buildings drew criticism for being 'too avant garde'. The senior public servants who lived there weren't too happy about living next door to more junior pubic servants either.

The economic boom in Canberra in the 1960s saw the introduction of ‘merchant builders’, including accountant turned builder Brian Pettit and entrepreneur Ron Sevitt. The hallmarks of their designs, along with others like Lend Lease, AV Jennings and Ken Woolley, included flat-pitched or dark tiled rooves, exposed beams, and painted or clinker brick walls. Ensuite bathrooms, modern kitchens and full-height clerestory windows also featured in homes that became family showpieces and statements of class. 

While not strictly a residential dwelling, a stunning example of Canberra’s 1960s architecture is the Carousel Restaurant (above), designed by Czech architect Miles Jakl and built in 1963 at Red Hill Lookout. Restaurant owners Peter and Lidia Vidovic also had a home designed by Jakl in Deakin: the aptly-named Vidovic House.

The 1970s: Student housing and a tent embassy

A huge influx of students arrived in Canberra in the early 1970s, taking advantage of free tertiary education. The University of Canberra residences and ANU's Toad Hall, both designed by John Andrews, were constructed, combining single rooms with communal kitchens and living areas. The designs included unique interlocking units, staggered in tiers, connected by paths and stairways.

In 1972, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy was established on the lawns of Old Parliament House: a profound political statement calling for the rights and sovereignty of Indigenous Australians. It's fair to say that the small community of tents and caravans has attracted the attention of the Australian public more than any other home in Canberra. 

The 1980s to 2000s: More is more

The following decades brought a population boom to Canberra and an increasingly wealthy population. Canberra houses became renowned for their style and size. Designers like Harry Seidler-influenced the suburban built environment, creating innovative living designs that gave stylish yet practical housing solutions.

Canberra expanded south with Tuggeranong and to the north with Gungahlin. The young families of both regions built solid brick homes with timber decks and opted for large backyards. Features previously considered luxuries - like ensuites and attached garages - became the norm.

Today: Integration with the environment

High rise units, prefab homes and recycled materials have all become common in modern Canberra. Minimalist styles with clean lines and small, easy to maintain yards, reflect the busy Canberra lifestyle. More and more Canberrans are embracing our unrivalled access to nature, and aspiring to live in harmony with our beautiful landscape. 

Photos courtesy of the National Library of Australia, the National Archives of Australia, ACT Historic Places.

Source: 100 Canberra Houses: A century of Capital Architecture By Tim Reeves and Alan Roberts

Main image by @modarchitecture