Late 1940s: Houses must be built

In 1947, an alarming 4,218 Queensland families were living in homes made from calico, canvas or hessian. Some even lived in makeshift bark shelters.

To meet the demand for housing, the Queensland Housing Commission started building the State's first rental homes. Public housing rent was called 'economic rent' and was calculated by a formula which took into account elements such as the cost to the Commission of the house and the loan, maintenance and administration. No Australian family was expected to pay more than a fifth of their weekly income in rent, so rebates were introduced and still exist today.

During the late 1940s, the Commission had thousands of workers under contract or on day labour teams working to build brick, timber and fibro houses for Queenslanders to rent.

At the same time, it converted ex-wartime barracks into temporary accommodation for families in need.

Within a few years, temporary accommodation was set up in Kalinga, Rocklea, Holland Park, Victoria Park, Gregory Terrace, Camp Muckley, Lang Park, New Farm, Wacol, Chermside, Ekibin, Garbutt, Toowoomba and Yeronga.

The camps provided rustic and sometimes unsuitable accommodation – they were army barracks converted into small flats. Bath and laundry facilities were communal.

The communities held boxing and cricket matches, and dances. For kids, camp life meant a constant supply of playmates.

At the peak in 1950, more than 2,000 families lived in temporary accommodation in Queensland paying rents per week ranging from 12 shillings and 6 pence ($1.25) for a one bedroom house to up to 27 shillings and 6 pence ($2.75) for a four bedroom house. In 1950, the average weekly wage was nearly £10 ($20).

As well as establishing temporary camps, the Queensland Housing Commission was building new houses to try and meet the growing demand. As quickly as the last nail was being hammered into each house, tenants were shifting furniture through the front doors.

Because of the limited supply of materials available locally, the Commission resorted to importing them. Cement was ordered from Czechoslovakia, iron sheeting from Belgium, timber from Finland and Sweden, and from England, roofing plus '2,000 baths of excellent quality'.

Despite the efforts of the Queensland Government, the time taken to complete a single house contract, normally six to eight weeks, often exceeded six months because of the shortage of labour and building materials.

The contract price for one of the first houses built to rent was £840 ($1,680). The quote covered land clearing, construction of a building of fibro-cement, a laundry, clothes line, built-in shelving and cupboards of 'first grade cypress pine', fences, water tank, polished hardwood floors, paint work and connection of water, gas and electricity.

Because of the world-wide material shortages, builders sought help from the Government in securing scarce materials such as nails, roofing iron, guttering and galvanised piping.

By mid-1945, the Commission had built 198 homes for rent. This had increased to 1,241 homes by mid-1948, but it was still not enough to overcome the crisis. The concept of importing houses pre-cut and ready to be erected was considered.