The ‘Great Australian Dream’, is the focus of a new exhibition developed by History SA and the Architecture Museum, UniSA. Suburban Dreams: house and home in Adelaide 1945-1965 explores how the shape of Adelaide was transformed by the hopes and dreams of ordinary South Australians in the postwar period.

History SA Senior Curator, Mandy Paul said ’The themes and concerns of this exhibition are as relevant today as they were 65 years ago. How to find, and fund, a home – housing availability and affordability – is again a pressing issue in Adelaide. And some of the ideas about planning and design which were central at the time, in particular the focus on the detached house on a suburban quarter-acre block, are only now coming under challenge as we grapple with contemporary issues such as sustainability and the liveability of cities.’

The dream of a home was a powerful force in the decades after the Second World War, as many South Australians made new lives, new families and new communities. In the austere 1940s housing was hard to come by, and demand was soon fuelled by the baby boom and immigration.  Shortages led to new design and construction methods as people struggled to make do.  By the mid-1950s hardship was giving way to prosperity, and dreams changed as people took on new ideas about houses and how to live in them.

This exhibition includes original objects, architectural plans and drawings and specially-commissioned models which show different housing styles of the period. It also features stories about particularly South Australian approaches to providing housing, including the South Australian Home Builders’ Club and the SA Housing Trust. Suburban Dreams explores the architecture and design of the postwar period, including the stylish 1950s, and looks at South Australian society in a period of rapid change. 

This exhibition has been developed as a partnership between History SA and the Architecture Museum, University of South Australia.

What: Suburban Dreams: house and home in Adelaide 1945-1965
When: On display throughout 2010: 10am-5pm weekdays, 1-5pm Weekends and Public Holidays.
Where: Migration Museum, 82 Kintore Avenue, Adelaide 5000

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