building images
Australian Building: A Cultural Investigation

Section One

Title page Acknowledgments
Introduction  
Section Two: Timber and Glass Section Three: Earth and Stone
Section Four: Hybrid Types Section Five: The Timber Frame
Section Six: Bricks and Tiles Section Seven: Cement and Concrete
Section Eight: Metals Section Nine: Services
Section Ten: Climate Design Section Eleven: Finishes
Section Twelve: Postcript: Technology Appendix A: Corrugated Iron: 06

Section Two: Timber and Grass

2.0 Introduction back to top

2.1 Bark

  • Aboriginal use of bark
    V-huts
    The European bark tradition
    Emergence of the bark roof
    The technology of bark
    The canonical bark roof
    Sources and analogies
    Roof variations
    The spread of bark building
    Later usage

2.2 Logs

  • Sources of log construction
    Palisades
    Vertical log panel construction
    Horizontal log panel construction
    Lock-ups
    Early Australian log buildings
    The goldfields
    Other log buildings

2.3 Splitting Timber

  • Tools and species
    The splitting process
    Uses

2.4 Slabs

  • Appearance and distribution
    Vertical slabs
    Weatherproofing
    Plastered slabs
    Sawn slabs
    Horizontal slabs
    Horizontal flitches

2.5 Shingles

  • Origins of shingles
    Manufacture
    Types and timbers
    Shingling practice
    Palings
    The shingle revival
    Shingles: check

2.6 Thatch

  • Thatching materials
    Grass houses
    Thatched roofs
    Thatched barns
    Rush or brush walling
    Cane

 

Section Three: Earth and Stone

3.0 Introduction back to top

3.1 Sods or Turves

  • Prehistory
    New Zealand
    Australian origins
    South Australia & Victoria
    Later New South Wales
    Construction technique
    Fences
    Roofs

3.2 Adobe or Clay Lump

  • Distribution
    The Orient
    The Spanish tradition
    H L Ellsworth
    Clay lump
    English variants
    Australian examples
    German connections
    Egyptian brick
    The twentieth century
    The adobe revival

3.3 Cob

  • Context
    British practice
    New Zealand
    Early Australian examples
    Rose Hill Villa & Bear's Castle
    The later nineteenth century

3.4 Origins of Pise de Terre

  • Carthage to Rome
    France
    François Cointeraux
    Britain
    Dissemination
    The twentieth century

3.5 Pise in Australia

  • Van Diemens Land
    New South Wales
    Western Australia
    South Australia
    Victoria
    Central Australia
    The Riverina
    Later New South Wales
    Queensland
    The twentieth century
    The pisé revival

3.6 Earth and Composite Floors

  • Earth floors
    Puddled floors
    Composite floors
    Plaster and concrete floors

3.7 Stones

  • Early history
    Local freestones
    Local limestones
    Basalt & granite
    Local slate
    Local marble
    Imported flagging and slate
    Imported stone
    The intercolonial trade
 

 

Section Four: Hybrid Types

4.0 Hybrid Types back to top

4.1 Wattle and Daub

  • Wattling
    Origins of wattle and daub
    Wattle and daub in Australia
    Prefabrication

4.2 Pole and Pug

European and American precedents
Lath and pug
The mining connection
Dissemination

4.3 Lehmwickel

  • Etymology
    Origins
    Eastern Europe
    North America
    Queensland
    South Australia
    Western Victoria
    Postscript

4.4 Palisade and Pug

  • Palisading
    Pugging
    Dissemination
    The German connection
    The Lincolnshire connection

4.5 The Transformation of the Tent

  • Tents
    The framed tent
    Transitional examples
    The fever tent

4.6 Huts in General

  • The itinerant builder
    Homestead forms
    Chimneys
    Diggers and selectors
    The bough shed
    Wheat bags & iron

 

Section Five: The Timber Frame

5.0 Introduction back to top

5.1 The Timber Trade

  • Early New South Wales
    The south-east
    Queensland
    Native pine
    Western Australia
    Classification
    Intercolonial trade
    Foreign imports
    Markings

5.2 Timber Processing

  • Tools
    Pit sawing
    Sawmills
    Woodworking machinery
    Seasoning
    Preservative treatments
    Antproofing
    Markings

5.3 Carpentry

  • The British tradition
    The German tradition
    Base wall plates
    Lightweight construction
    Cladding
    Blocked boarding
    Flooring
    Training

5.4 Roof Framing

  • Eaves joist construction
    The dragon beam
    The bow and string beam
    Sarking
    The sawtooth roof
    Barrups
    The steel square

5.5 Timber Gutters

  • Gutter types
    Monoligneous gutters
    Built-up eaves gutters
    Box gutters
    Trunks and downpipes
    The Philadelphia gutter

5.6 The Stud Frame

  • Traditional and stud framing
    The balloon frame
    Competing American types
    Definitions
    The stud frame in Europe
    Robert Scott Burn
    Transitional examples in Canada & New Zealand
    Australia
    Platform framing
    Skew nailing
    Origins

5.7 The Exposed Frame

  • The picturesque frame
    Ecclesiology
    Queensland
    The exposed frame vernacular
    The later picturesque

5.8 Naturalism and Nationalism

  • The Van Diemonian picturesque
    Stained finishes
    Internal linings
    Parquetry
    The reaction

5.9 Industrial Framing and the Sawtooth Roof

5.10 Joinery

  • The context
    Sash windows
    Casement windows
    Transom lights
    Room dividers
    The Austral window
    H D Annear
    Sash balances
    Modernist joinery
    Built-in furniture

5.11 Building Boards

  • Plywood
    Building boards
    Wood fibre boards in Australia
    Masonite
    Cane boards
    Solomit

5.12 Timber Engineering & Lamination

  • Mechanically laminated arches
    The Belfast truss
    Specialised girders and systems
    Glue lamination
    The Burge Brothers building
    Developments in lamination
    The hyperbolic parabaloid

 

Section Six: Bricks and Tiles

6.0 Introduction back to top

6.1 Brick Making

  • Pioneering
    Preparation
    Hand-moulding
    Extrusion
    Pressing
    Brick sizes

6.2 Brick Burning

  • Hacking
    Clamps
    Simple kilns
    Continuous kilns
    Downdraught kilns
    Round kilns
    Rectangular kilns
    The Hoffman kiln
    The Centennial kiln
    The tunnel kiln

6.3 The Cavity Wall

  • Recent studies
    Hollow walls
    Early cavity walls
    Wall ties
    Acceptance of the cavity wall
    The cavity wall overseas
    Proto-cavity walls in Australia
    R A Love and the Bendigo connection
    The Jennings brick in Australia
    The cavity in Australia
    Hoop iron and wire ties

6.4 Brick Veneer

  • Proto-veneer
    Canada
    United States
    New Zealand
    Australia
    Acceptance of brick veneer

6.5 Special Bricks

  • Early imports
    Fire bricks
    Paving bricks
    Hollow bricks
    Fixing bricks
    Coloured bricks
    Glazed bricks
    Shaped bricks
    Textured bricks

6.6 Roofing Tiles

  • Traditional tile types
    Gilardoni tiles
    Chabat's classification
    The French tile in Australia
    Other patterns in Australia

6.7 The Marseilles Tile

  • The Marseilles canon
    The imported Marseilles tile
    The Marseilles manufacturers
    Local manufacturers
    The Marseilles tile elsewhere
    The Australian picture

6.8 Tiles & Terra Cotta

  • Paving tiles
    Moulded terra cotta
    Tessellated tiles
    Wall tiles
    Mosaic
    Tile hanging
    Decorative terra cotta
    Ridging & gryphons
    Glazed terra cotta cladding

6.9 Terra Cotta Block & Lumber

  • Hollow blocks
    Extruded blocks
    American systems
    Terra cotta lumber
    Australian manufacture
    Local use of terra cotta lumber
    Terra cotta buildings
    Face blocks in the USA
    Natco
    Wunderlich structural blocks
 

 

Section Seven: Cement and Concrete

7.0 Introduction back to top

7.01 Early Lime and Cement

  • Shell lime and imports
    Rock lime
    Lime burning
    Hydraulic lime and cement
    Mortar and grout
    Stucco

7.02 Concrete

  • Flooring and paving
    Artificial stone
    Mass concrete
    Béton coignet
    Foundations and engineering works
    New Zealand
    Patents and inventions
    Mixers
    J T Knox
    Lightweight concrete

7.03 Fireproof Construction

  • Brick vaulted construction
    French systems
    Fox & Barrett's system
    Fairbairn's system
    Wilkinson's system
    Dennett's system
    John Sulman

7.04 Portland Cement

  • Artificial cements
    Victoria Hydraulic Freestone
    Cement castings
    Imported cement
    Local manufacture
    Technical developments

7.05 Reinforced Concrete

  • Proto-reinforced concrete in Australasia
    Raft construction
    The Monier system
    Expanded metal
    The Kahn bar and the Truscon company
    Reinforcement systems
    E G Stone & the Considère system
    W C Torode
    H R Crawford
    Flat plate construction
    Reinforced concrete houses

7.06 Blocks

  • Concrete blocks
    New Zealand
    Australian block manufacture
    The Midget Giant & the Emu
    Sand-lime bricks
    Later concrete blocks
    Mechanisation
    Breeze blocks
    Tiles & slabs

7.07 Knitlock

  • Invention of Knitlock
    The Tex-Tile connection
    Adoption of Knitlock
    The diagonal tile

7.08 Concrete Advances: Forms & Systems

  • Formwork systems
    Camerated concrete
    Cavity walling
    L M Perrott
    Concrete veneer
    Concrete roof tiles
    W H Lascelles
    Precasting
    Tilt slabs & panels
    Lift slab
    Prestressing

7.09 Peripheral Products: Additives & Finishes

  • Cements and additives
    Terrazzo
    Hardened pavings
    Benedict Stone
    Rendered finishes
    Gunite
    Metal lathing

7.10 Asbestos Cement

  • Asbestos
    Asbestos cement
    Importation
    Local manufacture
    New products
    Post-war developments

 

Section Eight: Metals

8.0 Introduction back to top

8.1 Iron

  • Local iron
    Imported components
    Local foundries
    Structural developments

8.2 Galvanized Iron

  • Origins of galvanizing
    Commercial galvanizing
    Galvanized iron in Australia
    Pipes and gutters
    Galvanized roof decking
    Lysaghts in Australia
    Other processes

8.3 Morewood & Rogers

  • Edmund Morewood
    Morewood & Rogers tiles
    The Melbourne agency
    Other metal tiles
    Morewood's corrugated iron
    Morewood & Co
    Gospel Oak

8.4 Corrugated Iron

  • Development of corrugated iron
    Corrugated iron in Australia
    Water tanks
    Verandah roofs
    Curving and structural use
    Corrugated tiles
    Early brands
    Later nineteenth century brands
    Lysaghts
    The Australian market
    Variant types
    Lysaghts' Australian operation
    Other twentieth century types
    Protected metal

8.5 Structural Corrugation

  • Corrugated iron vaulting
    Development of Traegerwellblech
    Traegerwellblech in Australia
    Surviving Traegerwellblech
    Buckled plates

8.6 Nails & Ironmongery

  • The wrought nail
    Machine-made nails
    Cut brads
    The Ewbank nail
    The wire nail
    Roofing nails & screws
    Local nail manufacture
    Screws
    Anchorage
    Ironmongery
    Locks
    Safes

8.7 Ornamental Cast Iron

  • Imported castings
    Early Australian castings
    Towards a Victorian style
    Regional variations
    The Angus McLean column

8.8 Pressed Metal

  • Stamped work
    Architectural sheet metal
    Wunderlich
    Metallic shingles
    Metal ceilings
    M etal cladding
    Metal roofing
    Porcelain enamel
    Shanties

8.9 Steel & Welding

  • The introduction of steel
    Local production
    Spans and frames
    Welding
    Stainless steel

8.10 Metal Windows & Curtain Walls

  • Steel windows & the fenestra joint
    Reversible windows
    Origins of the curtain wall
    Industrial glazing and skylights
    The curtain wall æsthetic
    Australian examples
    The curtain-walled skyscraper
    Technical problems

8.11 Non-ferrous metals

  • Sources & uses
    Alloys
    The zinc market
    Zinc sheeting
    Zinc tiles
    Other zinc products
    Tin
    Local production
    Aluminium
 

 

Section Nine: Services

9.0 Introduction back to top

9.1 Heating

  • Chimneys
    Fireplaces
    The colonial oven
    Cooking stoves
    Ranges
    Incinerators
    Kerosene
    Heating systems

9.2 Ventilation

  • Air bricks
    Arnott's ventilator
    The Tobin tube
    Educt vents
    Ceiling vents
    Extraction ducts
    Induct ventilators
    Roof vents
    Robert Boyle and the 'air pump'
    Later types
    Ventilating ridges

9.3 Cooling & Mechanical Ventilation

  • Passive evaporative cooling
    The punkah
    The tunnel
    Parliament House, Melbourne
    Forced ventilation & cooling
    Refrigeration
    Air conditioning
    The rotary clothes hoist

9.4 Water Supply & Plumbing

  • Wells & bores
    Pumps
    Rams
    Rainwater collection & disposal
    Ships' tanks
    Tank manufacturers
    Wooden pipes
    Lead pipes
    Paper pipes
    Plumbing fittings
    Laundries
    Plumbing cores

9.5 Sanitation

  • The pit closet
    The water closet
    The cesspit
    Nightcarts
    Sewers and drains
    Pneumatic systems
    Cistern and pan design

9.6 Earth Closets

  • Deodorising
    Moule's closet
    Moule's closet in Australia
    Variant types
    The afterglow

9.7 The Septic Tank

  • Prehistory
    Bacteriolytic systems
    The true septic tank
    Design and manufacture
    The aerator
    The non-septic tank

9.8 Gas

  • Pioneers
    Portable gas plants
    Alternative fuels
    Gaslight
    Gas cookers and appliances
    Acetylene
    Air gas
    Liquid fuel

9.9 Mechanical

  • Bells
    Tubes & cash systems
    Early lifts
    Passenger lifts
    The hydraulic power system
    Electric lifts & escalators

9.10 Electricity

  • Lightning conduction
    Lightning conductors in Australia
    Later forms
    Pioneering in electricity
    Appliances
    Intercom phones

 

Section Ten: Climatic Design

10.0 Introduction back to top

10.1a Climatic Devices

  • The detached kitchen
    The underground room
    Screens & walls
    Insulating roofs

10.1b The Verandah Overseas

  • Sources and terms
    The United States
    Canada
    Ceylon
    England
    The surrounding verandah
    The stoop
    The two storey verandah
    New Zealand

10. 2 The Verandah in Australia

  • Grose's verandah
    Early colonial examples
    The second phase
    The awning verandah
    The verandah revival
    Conclusion

10.3 The Bungalow

  • Indian prototypes
    Definitions
    Australian examples
    Indian connections
    Looser relationships
    The generic bungalow

10.4 The Piazza

  • Origins of the term
    Piazzas and verandahs
    American usage
    The Australian revival

10.5 Stumps, Ants and High-Set Houses

  • Stumps overseas
    Stumps in Australia
    Sheathed stumps
    The steddle
    The rick stand and cognate forms
    The ant cap
    The high-set house
    Masonry and concrete stumps

10.6 Damp Proofing

  • Asphalt and coal tar
    Asphalt paving
    Solid barrier damp-proof courses
    Asphalt and composition damp courses

10.7 Insulation & Roofing Felts

  • Organic materials
    Mineral products
    Acoustic products
    Tarred felt
    Felt roofing
    Asbestos products
    Malthoid
    Proprietary materials
    Felt shingles

10.8 The Flat Roof

  • The Underwood house
    Dalwood
    The South African connection
    The Indian connection
    English sources
    Tar and compound surfaces
    Modern flat roofs

10.9 Cyclone Design

  • Cyclones and storm battens
    The Knuckey Street church
    Hook bolts & ties
    Queensland practice
    Post-Tracey

10.10 Cool Rooms

  • Underground chambers
    Dairies
    Underground dairies
    Other underground rooms

10.11 Blinds & Louvres

  • Fabric blinds
    Mesh blinds and screens
    Venetian blinds
    Luffer boards and louvres
    Australian louvres
    Sunbreakers

 

Section Eleven: Finishes

11.0 Introduction back to top

11.1 Plaster & Plasterboard

  • Plastering practice
    Lathing
    Hard plaster & scagliola
    Modelling
    Gypsum plaster
    Proto-fibrous plaster
    Fibrous plaster
    Plasterboard
    Structural plaster

11.2 Paper & Papier Mâché

  • Oiled papers and fabrics
    Fabric linings
    The wallpaper trade
    Wallpaper types
    Embossed papers
    Papier mâché and carton pierre
    C F Bielefeld
    Papier mâché in Australia
    Tarred paper and pasteboard
    Sheathing paper
    Willesden Paper

11.3 Paints

  • Whitewash
    White pigments
    Oil paints
    Local manufacture
    Colouration
    Distemper and kalsomine
    Decorating practice
    Insulating and other special paints
    The twentieth century

11.4 Floor Coverings

  • Oilcloth
    Kamptulikon & boulinikon
    Introduction of linoleum
    Linoleum in Australia
    Rubber
    Magnesite and wood combinations
    Soft floorcoverings

11.5 Glass

  • Window glass
    Plate glass
    Local glassworking & manufacture
    Stained glass
    Transparencies
    Skylights
    Prismatic lights
    Glass blocks & double glazing
    Vita Glass
    Vitrolite & cognate materials

11.6 Shutters

  • The context
    Sliding shutters
    Sheet iron shutters
    Roller shutters in Britain
    Roller shutters in Australia
    Local manufacture

 

Section Twelve: Postcript: Technology

12.0 Introduction back to top

12.1 Construction

  • Cranes
    Machinery
    Scaffolding
    Site mechanisation

12.2 Fireproofing

  • Mill construction
    Terra cotta & concrete
    Early fire protection
    Sprinklers

 

Appendix A:

Corrugated Iron: 06 back to top
For details about this page contact Miles Lewis