Original post 21 May 2020

Photos 9 February 2020

Imagine living in a house entirely made of thick corrugated and cast iron ? And trying to sleep in the attic in summer ? That’s what lots of Melburnians did from the 1850s, and it was a step up from living in tents and badly built shacks which Melb was littered with as the #goldrush took hold and thousands poured in. A whole lot of houses were imported pre-made, with a bolt-together cast iron frame, and the then newish corrugated iron for the cladding, sold by foundries in the UK. Even the window frames are iron, and they probably came with the glass already in them. There were also timber ones, some English, some made in Singapore. This iron one in Coventry Street South Melb was one of many identical two-room plus attic houses imported by local speculator James Patterson, including 6 more in the lane behind (all now gone), in 1853. And people lived in them right into the 1960s. This one was saved by the @nationaltrustvic in the mid 60s, and it’s been a museum ever since. The Trust also rescued two more from other suburbs, and put them in the lane behind, so you get to see 3 at once.

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