Building Australia (ATOM Study Guide)

The six episodes of Building Australia explore what the film's press kit calls 'the hidden history of our houses'. In each half-hour episode, presenter John Doyle looks at the nature of a different type of housing style from around the country and asks: Why have we built the way we have? How has Australia shaped the Australian house? And how has the Australian house shaped the lives and culture of Australians?

The job of building Australia is, of course, ongoing, but in six episodes John Doyle charts the journey so far. His perspective privileges the building that matters most to all of us – the home. His observations and his conversations with a range of experts, enthusiasts and homeowners around the country offer insight and commentary on how, in building the Australian house, we have both created and been created by a unique set of values, priorities and solutions.

The built landscape of Australia is dominated by houses. How they were built, the materials that were used, the designs and the architectural innovations and influences tell us about our economy and the development of our country. Most of all, they tell us about ourselves; they describe the history of Australia through the lives of ordinary people. We all influence the homes we occupy and are influenced by them.

Amongst many others, Building Australia answers these six fascinating questions:

• Why did we import the terrace-house style into colonial society?
• Why do Queenslanders build Queenslanders?
• How did homesteads develop in remote areas?
• Why did weekenders become so popular?
• Where did the Federation style come from?
• Why were project homes so important in post–World War Two Australia?

Curriculum applicability
Building Australia is a resource that can be used in Australia Curriculum History Years 9 and 10. It can also be used in Media Studies.