page_title: Australian residential architectural styles
section_title: Victorian Period c. 1840 – c. 1890
hierarchical_section_title: Australian residential architectural styles / Victorian Period c. 1840 – c. 1890
caption_attribution_description: A 'Singapore cottage', located on Sackville Street, Collingwood, Victoria, Australia. These cottages were prefabricated dwellings imported from Singapore during the 1850s gold rush.
context_page_description: Australian residential architectural styles have evolved significantly over time, from the early days of structures made from relatively cheap and imported corrugated iron to more sophisticated styles borrowed from other countries, such as the Victorian style from the United Kingdom, the Georgian style from North America and Europe and the Californian bungalow from the United States. A common feature of the Australian home is the use of fencing in front gardens, also common in both the UK and the US.
  Climate has also influenced housing styles, with balconies and veranda spaces being more prevalent in subtropical Queensland due to the mild, generally warm winters experienced in the state. For many years, Australian homes were built with little understanding of the Australian climate and were widely dependent on European styles that were unsympathetic to Australian landscapes. In recent times, modern Australian residential architecture has reflected the climatic conditions of the country, with adaptations such as double and triple glazing on windows, coordination considerations, use of east and west shade, sufficient insulation, strongly considered to provide comfort to the dweller.
context_section_description: Gothic Revival
  1840–1880
  During the Victorian era, the British Empire, including Australia, was yet heavily Anglican, and thus subject to the influence of the Oxford and Cambridge Movements, which favored the use of Gothic Revival architecture. Thus, while a local magnate may have built his home in a classical style, he would potentially fund a church in the Gothic style. Thus, during the 19th century, when Australia was expanding rapidly, two forms of architecture were very evident: Gothic and the Classical styles. Originally Gothic was for God, and the Classical for the man. Later a new "self-made" Australian began to emerge, unhindered by a classical British education dictating classical gentlemanly interests. This "new" self-made man (like his contemporaries in Britain) would often choose Gothic as the design for his home.
  The great cathedrals of the Middle Ages during the Gothic period of ecclesiastical architecture formed the inspiration for this particular architectural style; not only in residential buildings, but in many commercial structures, churches and cathedrals built during this time. St. Paul's and St. Patrick's Cathedrals in Melbourne are excellent examples of the Gothic Revival period, often referred to as Victorian Gothic. Characteristics were: steeply pitched roofs often made of slate, narrow doors and windows resolving in a Gothic pointed arch at their height (known as lancet windows), diamond pane glazing to windows imitating a stained glass affect, and intricate parapets, often of a religious nature, with a cross. In non-terrace houses, the drawing room was often pulled forward, adding a bay window to the front of the dwelling.
  The Victorian style in Australia can be divided into 3 periods: Early, Mid and Late. The period in its entirety stretches from 1837 to 1901 and was named after the then Queen, Queen Victoria. Early styles featured symmetrical layouts and façades, a centrally located front door and a hipped roof of corrugated iron, leading to a veranda on the façade. During the 1850s cast-iron lacework came to Australia, where it made its way on to Mid and Late Victorian Homes with much the same floor plan as the Colonial Style, a central hallway with a standard 4 rooms. Weatherboards were often used, although larger homes used red brick and blue stone. In the Mid Victorian Style, decoration began to gain popularity. The bullnosed veranda roof was introduced, sidelights were added either side of the front door, and terraced houses were springing up everywhere, containing parapets and detailed dividing walls between the property boundaries. Late Victorian Style homes had perhaps the most decorative features in all of the known architectural styles to date, which is often referred to as Boom Style. Towards the end of the Victorian era, timber fretwork was being used more and more, which led into the Edwardian/Federation Styles.
caption: Prefabricated Victorian workers cottages were among the simple residences to appear in the slums of major cities in the 1850s.  Rare examples like this one in Collingwood, Victoria still remain today.
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