Post WWI were boom years for building
suburban houses that were detached and provided a yard for relaxation and
family pursuits.
The popular style was the Californian
bungalow, a style readily adopted into Australia from the USA from 1913
onwards. They provided an excellent
standard of accommodation within a single storey and incorporated a verandah
beneath a gabled roof.
An important change which was to have
lasting ramifications came to Concord in the time between the end of World War
I and the onset of World War II. It was
during this period that many of the old landed estates were subdivided and sold
for building blocks.
Most significant was the subdivision of the
greater part of the Walker estate which encompassed much of present day North
Strathfield and Concord West. However,
scattered around the municipality were many other parcels of land, large and
small, which were also opened up for development.
The main factors responsible for Concord’s
rapid recovery from the depression was the improvement in transport services,
roads, sewerage and drainage facilities, due to work carried out by relief
workers and government allocations of finance for public works.
Industrial expansion on Hen & Chicken
Bay and Homebush Bay-West Concord area enhanced the prospects for local
employment which encouraged more builders to the area.
By 1920 Concord was ready for subdivision
and development. The ferry service still
existed and the public transport system provided adequate service by rail and
tram. The motor car was becoming
increasingly common. Concord’s earlier
isolation and particularly the large amount of its land that had been tied up
in the Walker estate, meant that extensive tracts were still available for
development.
Moreover, by 1920 home ownership had become
more accessible than ever before to those of modest means.
The Commonwealth War Service Home
Commission, formed in 1918 to repay society’s debt to its servicemen and
overcome the desperate shortage of housing after World War I, built homes for
ex-servicemen who wanted to achieve the Australian dream of a family home set
on a suburban block of land.
Calibornian Bungalows – Five Dock
These houses were built in 1925 by John
Hood at the corner of Lyons Road West and Scott Street, Five Dock. John Hood is standing at the front gate of
the second house. Hood was born in
Ayrshire, Scotland in 1884, arrived in Australia in 1912 and died in 1937. He was a builder and served as an Alderman on
Drummoyne Council 1922-1925.
The Legend of the Patrol In 1920 the horse and cart were still a predominant means of transport. Many roads were not fit for cars, and ferries were often a preferred means of transport where available. Back then the roads were a disaster. When it rained a car could almost disappear into a pothole, and…
Commode A commode is often assumed to be a euphemism for a toilet. Originally it referred to a chest of drawers or cabinet used for storing personal items. The name derives from the French word meaning convenience or suitable. French furniture makers in the 18th Century fashioned highly decorated cabinets topped with marble. These were…
In 1937, Professor von Brauchitsch delivered a lecture at Munich to German officer-cadets on escapology. It was the sort of lecture which did not arouse much interest except for one man, an ex-British Officer who made copious notes. At the time he did not know that what he had heard would afterwards be discussed at…
Following the death of Alfred Llewellyn Bray, the first Mayor of Concord, his home “Braygrove” was purchased by R. Tulloch & Company and in 1915 the Iron Works transferred from its original site at Pyrmont to Rhodes. “Braygrove” was incorporated into the Tulloch administrative complex but fell into disrepair and was finally completely demolished in…
Ardill House, originally called Clermont House, was constructed in 1861 on a grant to Henry Bray, third Mayor of Concord. Henry died in 1896. Subdivision of the estate began in 1917 and in 1918 the house and existing grounds were donated by the then owner, Mr. F.K. Oliver, to the Society for Providing Homes for…
First Mayor of Five Dock Mr. Arthur William Sutton, the first Mayor of Five Dock, was born in Manchester in 1839 and arrived in New South Wales in 1842. He may, therefore, be considered as almost a native of the colony. He was the son of the late John Sutton, builder and contractor, who for…