Summary

Architectural model of public housing in Garden City, Fisherman's Bend, Victoria, scale 1:50, made 1989. The model depicts three brick houses of the 376 houses built by the (then) Housing Commission of Victoria at Fishermans Bend circa 1938-1942, on a land allotment of 55 acres. The allotment was bounded by The Boulevard to the south, Todd Road to the west, Howe Parade and Williamstown Road to the north and Barak Road to the east.

The model was made by Blazenka Grabovac. It was donated to Museum Victoria for the exhibition 'Home Sweet Home: Changes in Victorian Domestic Architecture, 1839-1989', in November 1989.

In 1939 the newly-formed Housing Commission of Victoria announced a design competition for a new estate on reclaimed land at Fishermen's Bend, to the south of the Melbourne CBD. The competition was won jointly by architects Ballantyne & Wilson and surveyors Tuxen & Miller. Saxil Tuxen's design, used for the Fishermen's Bend estate, reflected both American suburban estate design and English garden city-style planning, including cul-de-sacs such as that seen in this model, playgrounds and a community centre (Victorian Heritage Database Report - 'Experimental Concrete Houses'). The houses were built of concrete; brick houses on the estate included two-storied versions such as shown on this model. The estate reflects the influence on government policy by social reformers such as Oswald Barnett.

Physical Description

Architectural model of with three houses (two semi-detached two storied, one bungalow). Houses are depicted as made brick with tiled roof, placed at the end of a cul-de- sac.

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