By Victor (Thu Han Wai)

Houses were smaller than they are today. They were dangerous, unsanitary, and overcrowded. The houses were built of cheap materials. They did not have sewerage and a standard water supply.

Wealthy people lived in big houses with a huge garden. They even had enough space to build a home for the servants. The houses had British influences on them.

Horses were their main type of transportation until trains came along which allowed people to travel further distances faster. Ships were used to import goods into Australia, mostly from Britain. Australia bought 1/3 of all British published books. It took around 3 months to arrive.

These are all forms of entertainments during the 1900s. It includes dancing, picnics, horse racing. Other entertainments include playing music and reading books, which was considered Australia’s favourite liesure during that time.

 Men wore coats and long pants, and often grew a moustache, while women wore long dresses and often tied their hair up.

Working class family on the left and wealthy family on the right. You can see the difference in type of clothing different classes wore. Couples usually had a lot of children, up to 8 children.

Most children study in primary school until the age of 12, when they would leave school for work. Wealthy children finish secondary school.

Workers were treated poorly. They had to work long hours with little wage. If they complained, they were sacked. They didn’t have many rights.