70 YEARS WELL LIVED
Excuse us for a while, as we look to the past. It’s not often you turn 70. And while I know there are people who hate to look back, I’m happy to hit the pause button now and then to reflect on the journey to this point. In the case of AustralianHouse&Garden magazine it’s quite a journey, and one I hope you will enjoy.
Launched at a time of hope and optimism, as Australians were rebuilding their lives and planning their futures following the conclusion of World War II, H&G was a source of inspiration and practical support. Publishing floor plans and DIY furniture plans, it helped people build and furnish their homes. Material shortages proved challenging, however creativity and innovation and eventually new materials too, were harnessed for the cause.
The first issue hit the stands in December 1948 – the front cover is pictured here. The wide variety of articles (and very few pictures) included the practical and the inspirational, with a bit of tongue-in-cheek marital advice thrown in too…
H&G reported on weekend working bees with friends and neighbours pitching in to help build homes or pools. Stories promoted textural alternatives to Gyprock walls. Four ways with rhubarb. Homemade bookshelves. And a kitchen makeover that shaved 34 minutes off dinner prep for the lucky lady of the house. Garden paths and ponds, and newly built architect-designed homes featured. A piece on how to share a bed with a new spouse mused on who should get up to shut the window or to kill a mosquito, as well as what topics should be off limits before bed (“don’t mention money. Talk about money soon becomes talk about the lack of money – the worst possible subject.”).
Today’s challenges are quite different (though talking about money at bedtime is still ill advised). There’s never been more consumer choice when it comes to goods and services. Nor has there been a more difficult time to get into the housing market. The subjects of sustainability, recycling, energy efficiency and growing your own vegetables, raised in H&G’s pages in the 1970s, are again on our lips and pages. And equal rights – for all – very much in the news. Meanwhile, construction of H&G’s My Ideal House, a contemporary home design, will soon be completed, in a new Sydney community, Crest by Mirvac at Gledswood Hills in the city’s south-west. Modest in size and budget, with generous open-plan living spaces, solar panels and a storage battery, it allows us to continue a discussion this magazine has always encouraged: the merits of good design, across time.
So indulge us as we take a spin through the seven decades of H&G’s existence, and celebrate this milestone birthday with a feast of good talent, fabulous food and even the soundtrack that has played in our homes along the way.
And stay with us as we highlight the ideas that will shape our homes in years to come.