Airdate: Building Australia

John Doyle’s new series Building Australia, uncovering the hidden history of Australia’s houses, will premiere on History channel next month.

The six-part series produced by Michael Tear and Harriet Pike at Bearcage, takes a nostalgic walk through some of our most iconic houses.

The show is produced in association with Australian Council of National Trusts.

From the terrace to the Queenslander, the homestead, the weekender, the Federation house and the project house, the series provides a fascinating social history of Australia through the evolution of our houses, exploring how Australia has shaped the Australian house – and in turn, how the Australian house has shaped the lives and cultures of Australians.

Throughout the series, Doyle charts the journey of the Australian house through his observations and conversations with a range of experts, enthusiasts and home owners right around the country.

Episode one looks at inner city living, the terrace, tracing the earliest development of the terrace from those that landed in the first fleet and initiated the tradition of the European style building.

In episode two we see that pioneers adapted to the unfamiliar climate of the tropics through the evolution of one of Australia’s most iconic houses – the Queenslander.

The third episode looks at the homestead, a house unique to Australia and inextricably tied to the workplace, followed by the weekender, which evolved due to the introduction of paid holidays and the five day week.

The Federation house tells the story of the optimism and confidence that powered the movement to make Australia an independent nation. And finally, there is the project house, which came about as a result of the housing crisis due to post-war immigration and the baby boom.

Tuesday, July 30 at 8.30pm on History.