Australian Building: A Cultural Investigation
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The headings below give an indication of the material covered. It is now divided into separate documents dealing wth Australian and overseas aspects of each topic. It is also largely indexed, and I hope to be able soon to mount the indexes here. Although this material is too extensive to be published in hard copy, I hope to find an institution prepared to host it and make it fully available after my death.
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Section One
Section Two: Timber and Grass
| 2.0 Introduction |
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2.1 Bark [DropBox: see note above]
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 [DropBox: see note above]
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 |
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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 [DropBox: see note above]
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 [Dropbox: see note above]
Carthage to Rome
France
François Cointeraux
Britain
Dissemination
The twentieth century |
3.5 Pisé 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 |
3.8 Stonework [DropBox: see note above]
Early testing
Knight's observations
Exfoliation
Quarrying & working
Building traditions
Enamelled slate
Stone castings
|
Section Four: Hybrid Types
| 4.0 Hybrid Types |
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4.1 Wattle and Daub [DropBox: see note above]
Wattling
Origins of wattle and daub
Wattle and daub in Australia
Prefabrication |
4.2 Pole and Pug [DropBox: see note above]
European and American precedents
Lath and pug
The mining connection
Dissemination |
4.3 Lehmwickel [DropBox: see note above]
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 [Dropbox: see note above]
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 [Dropbox: see note above]
The British tradition
The German tradition
Base wall plates
Lightweight construction
Cladding
Blocked boarding
Flooring
Training |
5.4 Roof Framing [DropBox: see note above]
Eaves joist construction
The dragon beam
The bow and string beam
Sarking
The sawtooth roof
Barrups
The steel square
5.04 Appendix: Sydney Court roof drawings [Dropbox: see note above] |
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 [Dropbox: see note above]
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 [Dropbox: see note above]
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
(See 5.4 Roof Framing) |
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 [DropBox: see note above]
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 [Dropbox: see note above]
Pioneering
Preparation
Hand-moulding
Extrusion
Pressing
Brick sizes |
6.2 Brick Burning [Dropbox: see note above]
Hacking
Clamps
Simple kilns
Continuous kilns
Downdraught kilns
Round kilns
Rectangular kilns
The Hoffman kiln
The Centennial kiln
The tunnel kiln |
6.3 Brickwork [Dropbox: see note above]
Brick nogging
Hoop iron bond
The invert arch |
6.4 The Brick Cavity Wall [Dropbox: see note above]
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 |
6.5 Brick Veneer
Proto-veneer
Canada
United States
New Zealand
Australia
Acceptance of brick veneer |
6.6 Specialised Bricks
Early imports
Fire bricks
Paving bricks
Hollow bricks
Fixing bricks
Coloured bricks
Glazed bricks
Shaped bricks
Textured bricks |
6.7 Roofing Tiles [DropBox: see note above]
Traditional tile types
Gilardoni tiles
Chabat's classification
The French tile in Australia
Other patterns in Australia |
6.8 The Marseilles Tile [DropBox: see note above]
The Marseilles canon
The imported Marseilles tile
The Marseilles manufacturers
Local manufacturers
The Marseilles tile elsewhere
The Australian picture |
6.9 Tiles & Terra Cotta [DropBox: see note above]
Paving tiles
Moulded terra cotta
Tessellated tiles
Wall tiles
Mosaic
Tile hanging
Decorative terra cotta
Ridging & gryphons
Glazed terra cotta cladding |
6.10 Terra Cotta Block & Lumber [DropBox: see note above]
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 [Dropbox: see note above]
Artificial cements
Victoria Hydraulic Freestone
Cement castings
Imported cement
Local manufacture
Technical developments |
7.05 Reinforced Concrete [Dropbox: see note above]
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 Concrete Blocks [DropBox: see note above]
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 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 Additives & Finishes [DropBox: see note]
Cements and additives
Terrazzo
Hardened pavings
Benedict Stone
Rendered finishes
Gunite
Metal lathing |
7.10 Asbestos Cement [Dropbox: see note above]
Asbestos
Asbestos cement
Importation
Local manufacture
New products
Post-war developments |
Section Eight: Metals
| 8.0 Introduction |
back to top |
8.1 Iron [Dropbox: see note above]
Local iron
Imported components
Local foundries
Structural developments |
8.2 Galvanized Iron [Dropbox: see note above]
Origins of galvanizing
Commercial galvanizing
Galvanized iron in Australia
Pipes and gutters
Galvanized roof decking
Lysaghts in Australia
Other processes |
8.3 Morewood & Rogers [Dropbox: see note above]
Edmund Morewood
Morewood & Rogers tiles
The Melbourne agency
Other metal tiles
Morewood's corrugated iron
Morewood & Co
Gospel Oak |
8.4 Corrugated Iron [DropBox: see note above]
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 |
8.6a Nails & Screws
The wrought nail
Cut brads
Machine-made nails
The Ewbank nail
The wire nail
Roofing nails & screws
Local nail manufacture
Screws
Anchorage
|
8.6b Ironmongery
general ironmongery
window & door fitting
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 [Dropbox: see note above]
Stamped work
Architectural sheet metal
Wunderlich
Metallic shingles
Metal ceilings
Metal cladding
Metal roofing
Porcelain enamel
Shanties |
8.9 Steel & Welding [Dropbox: see note above]
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 |
9.1a Heating
Chimneys
Fireplaces
Incinerators
Kerosene
Heating systems
|
9.1b Cooking [Dropbox: see note above]
The colonial oven
Cooking stoves
Ranges |
9.2 Ventilation [Dropbox: see note above]
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 [Dropbox: see note above]
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 [Dropbox: see note above]
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 [Dropbox: see note above]
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 [Dropbox: see note above]
Pioneers
Portable gas plants
Alternative fuels
Gaslight
Gas cookers and appliances
Acetylene
Air gas
Liquid fuel |
9.9 Mechanical Services
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 [DropBox: see note above]
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 [Dropbox: see note above]
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 [Dropbox: see note above]
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 [Dropbox: see note above]
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 [Dropbox: see note above]
Plastering practice
Lathing
Hard plaster & scagliola
Modelling
Gypsum plaster
Proto-fibrous plaster
Fibrous plaster
Plasterboard
Structural plaster |
11.2a Paper & Papier mâché
Oiled papers and fabrics
Papier mâché and carton pierre
C F Bielefeld
Papier mâché in Australia
Tarred paper and pasteboard
Sheathing paper
Willesden Paper
|
11.2b Wallpaper [Dropbox: see note above]
Fabric linings
The wallpaper trade
Wallpaper types
Embossed papers
|
11.3 Paints [Dropbox: see note above]
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 [Dropbox: see note above]
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 [Dropbox: see note above]
Cranes
Machinery
Scaffolding
Site mechanisation |
12.2 Fireproofing [Dropbox: see note above]
Mill construction
Terra cotta & concrete
Early fire protection
Sprinklers |
Appendix A:
