By Ashleigh Nickolaou
Housing – Poor (slums)
Housing for the poor is dramatically different to housing for the rich. In the 1900 –
1920’s the positioning of your house practically showed your social status. The rich
lived at the top of the hill were it was rarely flooded and away from factories pollution
and the poor lived at the bottom of the hill in the ‘slums’ were they were regularly
flooded and surrounded in pollution and diseases, the bottom of the hill was un
sanitary and not safe and the houses were usually too small for those living in them.
Houses were mostly prefabricated iron houses that were shipped from overseas.
These houses were designed for people with near to no skills. Iron houses were
extremely cold during the winter and extremely hot in the summer, however they
provided somewhat adequate shelter for thousands. Families were squeezed into tiny
houses near factories were they worked; people living in the slums generally struggled
to pay rent and other necessities. When the world went through the industrial
revolution factories and mass production was introduced, this meant that jobs were
produced however resulted in pay being very low making it hard for families to pay for
living expenses. Many houses provided shelter for more than 10 people, in houses that
had only 2 rooms! Family sizes were extremely large due to the lack of contraceptives.
All the above aspects made the quality of life low and also brought the house prices
down dramatically.
Housing - Rich
Housing for the rich was much more
sophisticated and sanitary than the slums.
The rich lived at the top of the hill were
churches and shops were situated. Houses
were a lot less cramped and houses could be
nearly triple the size of the poor housing.
Living at the top of the hill was reserved for
the rich. Rich houses had separate
bedrooms for adults and children an inside
kitchen, laundry, sitting rooms and
bathroom and also a clean garden. The rich
had a much less chance of catching diseases
as houses were much more sanitary, and if
they happened to become sick they could
afford proper treatment. During the 1900 1920’s there was a massive separation
between rich and poor, both leading
completely separate lives.
Family life and growing up
Family life and growing up was very different to today. The average size of a family was very large and the
poor were very cramped due to the size of their houses. Children didn’t have much time to be kids as
when they reached the age of twelve they would work. The word ‘teenager’ didn’t exist as children
didn’t have that transition from child to adult like we do today. When families could no longer send
children to school they would send them to work or look after other siblings and the house. The lack of
education and a sense of discipline often resulted in ending up in gangs and violence. Poor children
attended local public schools until their parents couldn’t pay the fees and were expected to then work,
in some cases children younger than seven had to work and provide and income. In the slums the
children’s backyard was their alley way, this was very dirty and unsanitary, most children wouldn’t feel
lonely as all the children in the community played together. Children made their own fun with things
that didn’t require much equipment. On the contrary rich children could play in backyards however they
were forbidden from playing with the poor in the streets. There gardens/backyards were away from the
unsanitary surrounding and didn’t have to start working at such young ages, their houses weren’t
cramped, they were more educated, and food was more abundant, families also had more time for
leisure participating in sports typically reserved for the rich. Living conditions changed quite drastically
compared to before the 1920’s meaning that youth’s were able to participate in new activities like
listening to the radio and going to cinemas. Girls were able to have more freedom in their clothing
choices, being able to show more skin, wear makeup and go to the beach with boys in their bathers.
Public events became increasingly popular and rich and poor began to mix together more than ever,
creating a much less visible barrier. Although times had changed girls were still less adventurous due to
the stereotype placed upon them.
Average Life Expectancy
During the first decade of the 20th century the
life expectancy was:
Men = 55.2
Women = 58.4
These statistics show how the affects of low
living quality can impact ones life expectancy
Occupation Conditions
The working life for the poor was considerably harder as many poor
families did not have enough money for food and rent as the factories
often didn’t pay well. This was the opposite for rich families as they didn’t
have to work as hard for little pay. Women in the lower class would usually
work at the factories however this was completely opposite for the higher
classes. The rich and poor very rarely worked together and had completely
different occupations. The rich would usually receive tertiary education
enabling them to get higher class jobs such as doctors. The poor on the
other hand wouldn’t get education higher than primary education and
generally work in factories. The rich worked in town whereas the poor
worked in the slums. For a long time there was no real contact between
the rich and poor as they were forced to lead completely separate lives.
Average weekly wage in 1901 for males: $4.35 for working almost 50 hours
 after inflation this equates to $217.50
This statistic shows the difficulty in affording just the daily essentials
Bibliography
• http://heritage.vic.gov.au/Heritage-placesobjects/What-house-is-that/index.html
• http://richmond-livingconditions.blogspot.com.au/p/housing.html
• http://www.walkingmelbourne.com/forum/viewtopic.
php?f=23&t=1937&start=0
• http://museumvictoria.com.au/melbournemuseum/w
hatson/current-exhibitions/melbournestory/exhibitionnotes/
• http://www.ignatius.org.au/RichmondsHistory.htm
• http://richmond-living-conditions.blogspot.com.au/
Thankyou!