14 October 2024
Charming Old English cottage style house in Southward Ave, Port Melbourne, which is part of the first State Government housing project in Victoria, and not only that, they’re all designed by the great Percy Everett – thanks to @other_peopleshomes for alerting me to this ! It’s one of Everett’s earliest projects, designed mid 36, and completed early 1937. He did about 6 different styles, and they’re all ‘twin houses’, that is semi-detached (though the first pic is now a single house). The other notable thing is they’re mostly on lots that are at a sharp angle to the street, to avoid bring ‘in a row’. There’s a Tudorish style, a Georgian (not very nice), a sort of Cape Cod, and one that’s just a brick box. All comes together very nicely with trees and gardens. It’s all heritage listed, and called the Dunstan Estate after the Premier of the day who commissioned it, and it was all a bit controversial. It was located next to ‘Garden City’, blocks of rather plainer twin homes, a low cost home initiative by the State Bank. As the Dunstan Estate was being completed, the Housing Commission of Victoria was created, which started building more.
26 January 2025
Looks like a bit of mid century modern, but actually it’s 1939! And made of concrete. It’s a pair of ‘experimental concrete houses’ built by the new Housing Commission of Victoria in the Fisherman’s Bend estate in Howe Parade, Port Melbourne, using the Fowler method of precast wall sections (poured insitu lying flat then tilted up). Even though they’re called experimental, they built 25 pairs, but these two are the only ones with such nearly flat roofs, and the only ones on the Victorian Heritage Register. The citation says they were a precursor to the precast walkups and tower blocks of the 60s, but also I think more concrete houses in the 50s. I read ages ago about how the thermal performance of these was poor, with condensation inside in winter, and so some have a new brick exterior, while these two possibly have extra internal insulation. Pics 5, 6 from heritage vic, 1943 and c1999. I saw another couple that looked original, last 2 pics.
Storey of Melbourne 