'Anything for the house': Recollections of post-war suburban dreaming

Abstract

In the post-war years, as the suburbs were expanding, older criticisms of suburban life as shallow and dull were re-invigorated. The suburbs of the 1950s becameand continue to be for somean object of disdain and critique. But much of this analysis fails to engage with the real experiences of those who lived there, and is unable to explain the attractions of suburban life and its power over the Australian imagination. This paperbased on interviews asking elderly Australians about their experiences and meanings of work, family and community in the 1950ssuggests a more complex picture. Despite the limitations built into restricted gender roles in the post-war years, the suburbs were often anima..