Becoming A City: Domestic Architecture

A new style in the years after Federation
In the early years of the century, new housing styles developed. Iron lace was no longer popular, but houses had attractive timber decoration. There was no single style - some houses retained a separate verandah right across the front while in others, one front room projected forward. Often, the main roof also covered the verandah in a continuous sweep. Many houses featured Art Noveau details.

Some houses of this era were “Workers’ Dwellings”. In 1910, the Queensland Government set up the Workers’ Dwelling Branch to help people own their own home. Under the scheme, people borrowed money from the Government, selected from a range of standard designs which could be modified to suit, and then had the house built on their own land. [1]

The pre-federation houses still prevailed during this time but the Federation/Post Federation houses saw a gradual change to some details. The separate curved verandah roof was often abandoned in favour of sweeping the main roof in one unbroken length down and across the verandah. The importance of front rooms was often accentuated by projecting forward with handsomely detailed gable infill and bay windows. Roof forms continued to be mainly hipped or pyramidal but in some cases hexagonal or octagonal over the projecting front room, and sometimes set at an angle to the main house. Houses were generally on timber stumps. 

Materials
Continued general use of timber frame although some brick houses existed. External use of pine chamferboard, and vertical tongue and groove vee-jointed boarding to protect verandah walls. Joinery such as windows, doors, architraves and skirtings featured increasing use of Queensland pine due to unavailability of Australian Cedar. Roofing continued to be corrugated galvanised iron. Internal wall and ceiling linings were generally of pine tongue and groove vee-jointed boards, with belt rails. Windows still of the double hung sash type but generally large single pane type, or multi-pane decorative type with coloured and figured glass. Sliding windows were often installed to enclose rear verandahs. Timber broomstick dowel balustrades were common, and there was a gradual decline in use of cast iron lace after 1914. Verandah posts often featured tapered stop chamfers, timber brackets and valances. Timber battens set vertically between outer line of stumps and enclosing the underneath of houses were used together with lattice panels above verandah handrails. [2]

Anzac Cottages
March 1918, two four-room Anzac cottages were opened in View St Goodna (Nos 3 and 5). They were built by voluntary labour on land donated by George Armstrong with materials supplied by the Queensland War Council.

The cottages named Jellicoe Cottage and Beatty Cottage were occupied by widows of soldiers at a nominal rental. The first occupants were Mrs. Mitchell and Mrs. Coogan. A third cottage occupied by Mrs. Hiller was built a little later around the corner at 48 William Street. In April, New Chum residents arranged for an Anzac cottage for the widow of Private James Corbett. A site at Dinmore was donated by Matthew Bognuda. [3]