Description

The National Trust of Australia (Victoria) Portable Iron Houses were saved for permanent preservation because of their rarity and technological interest. The houses at 399 Coventry Street, South Melbourne are rare surviving examples of houses that were manufactured in the UK and shipped to Australia as a solution to a lack of housing during the 1850s.

In 1854, the local rates book showed more than 100 portable iron houses in the vicinity of Coventry Street. Patterson House, at 399 Coventry Street is the last of these houses remaining on its original site. Two other houses at the rear of the site have been moved from North Melbourne and Fitzroy to ensure their preservation. All three houses are open to the public.

What's On

Three portable iron houses will be open to visitors to explore during self-guided tours. National Trust volunteers will be available on site to provide information and answer questions. Visitors will be able to watch a video about the history of the houses and learn about the shortage of housing in Melbourne in the early 1850s and that prior to 1852, South Melbourne was a tent city with no permanent housing. The first land sales in South and North Melbourne and South Carlton in 1852 allowed for the erection of portable iron houses, which were banned from the city of Melbourne by the Melbourne Building Act 1850. The houses offer a rare opportunity for visitors to see how some people lived in Melbourne in the 1850s.