HOUSING IN SYDNEY.

Shannon News, 8 March 1927, Page 4

HOUSING IN SYDNEY.

FAMILIES LIVING ON BALCONIES. SYDNEY, February 17. Sydney's harbour gives the. city what might be termed a Queen, Anne front. But in some of its congested skirting the city it has a Mary Ann back, which obviously few of the visitors to Sydney see or hear about. The exposure of the conditions in Paddington, for example, within eoo-ee of the city proper, has caused something of a stir. In that suburb and in an area of 430 acres, there are 5300 houses, which accommodate 27,000 people| For residential purposes in Paddington it has been disclosed by ona of the health inspectors that 2241 balconies and verandahs are enclosed or partly enclosed. The Government just now is flirting with a big housing scheme, but even if it becomes operative in the early future, which i„ hardly likely in view of its commitments for family endowment and other schemes, it is difficult to see how it can overcome the acute state of housing shortage in Paddington, for there is Jittle room there on which to build houses on ay extensive scale. It is not improbable also that many of the balcony tenants would not be happy under other conditions, especially if they had to pay more. The fact that Crown lands, which, might otherwise be ballotted for by people seeking home sites, are sometimes sold by public auction, and bought up by speculators who can buy as much land as they like and hold it without effecting any improvein ent, has evoked a protest among councils in areas where the housing problem is acute, and where there is little or no prospect of meeting it effectivly. Not only in Paddington, but in other crowded suburbs of Sydney, it is common for families to have their homes on balconies improvised as rooms.