Sunday

A bush home in Australia in 1895

photo of bush home in Australia 1895

The first settlers endured the inclement climate and the harshness of the bush as they went forth into the forest with the manly determination to reclaim the wilderness and to make themselves a home in its previously unbroken solitudes. To do this, has involved no small amount of courage, of patient endurance, of steadfast hope, of physical strength and of pertinacious toil.  Picturesque Atlas of Australasia: published in 1886.

It's hard to tell from this photo, due to the fence, whether it is a fully wooden construction called a bark hut or a slab hut or a wattle and daub home.

Bark Hut
A hut almost entirely made from the stringy bark tree which was chosen because of its straight grain. The bark was stripped and cured before being used to create the walls.

Slab Hut
A hut made from slabs of split or sawn timber, often in a vertical construction. Timber was split along the grain and used green not seasoned.

Wattle and daub
The wattle is the horizontal weaving of thin branches between vertical stakes.
Daub is the binding ingredient usually made of clay in Australia mixed with wet soil, or sand, animal dung and straw.

LINKED UP AT: History and Home

6 comments:

Anna U. said...

It looks impossible... house, fully wooden construction... . Very interesting story... .
By the way: I'd like to ivite you to visit my quite new blog:
www.bazgrolandia-hanki.blogspot.com
Regards :-)

Lee Good said...

Thanks Anna for dropping by. I will visit your new site too.

Unknown said...

Our local school was started in 1895 - the kids are amazed that things looked like this when their school was first opened. We live in Merewether 2291 NSW Merewether NSW.

Bushrangers said...

Hi Brendan, thanks so much for dropping by and leaving a comment. Are you the teacher of the school? I have a picture of an old school from the bushranger era and will try and find it for you

Anonymous said...

Isn't it amazing how people just made do with what they had, but it worked! This is really interesting. Thanks for joining the History & Home link party, take care - Dawn @ We Call It Junkin.com

Lee Good said...

Hi dawn, it is interesting how people were so self sufficient in the bushranger era. Thanks for hosting your link up.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...