Aboriginal houses

Houses are one of the base requirements for us to feel safe and sound. Without adequate housing we cannot learn or form rich lives.

Australia's first white visitors assumed that Aboriginal people did not build permanent houses or shelters which became one of the reasons for the continent's invasion. But was this true?

Did Aboriginal people build permanent houses?

A common stereotype is that Aboriginal people were 'nomads' and never built permanent shelters. The opposite is true.

An area near Portland in southwest Victoria has evidence of volcanic stone huts that date back thousands of years [1]. The Budj Bim Aboriginal people of that area developed an 'aquacultural system' made of fish traps and weirs which is thought to be among the world's oldest [1].

The architecture of Aboriginal houses built prior to invasion depended on climate, natural environment, resources available, family size and particular needs of the Aboriginal nation of that area.

As you can see from the image below fire was always present around gunyas as it was used to drive away snakes and mosquitoes and other insects, as well as for cooking and heating.

Budj Bim is an example of the earliest settler history in this country with not only permanent occupation but permanent dwellings and a large-scale fish enterprise.—Peter Garrett, Environment Minister [1]

Author Paul Memmott has written the first book about "the Aboriginal Architecture Of Australia" exploring the range and complexity of Aboriginal-designed structures from minimalist shelters to permanent villages.

"Gunyah, Goondie and Wurley" (which are all names of (semi-)permanent Aboriginal structures) aims to introduce the lay reader to the subject and provide insight into the lifestyles and cultural heritage of Aboriginal peoples.

According to Paul Memmott, many of the houses the Aborigines built were dome structures. In the rainforest area around Cairns, in Queensland, where there was heavy rain for much of the year, people would occupy such villages for up to a year.

Some of the houses had triple layers of cladding and insulation. In western Victoria, Aboriginal people built circular stone walls more than a metre high, constructing dome roofs over the top with earth or sod cladding.

Words for Aboriginal houses and shelters

There are many Aboriginal words describing 'houses'. Since there were many hundred Aboriginal languages in Australia the number of words we know today is but a fraction of the abundance of words used.

Some words are gunya (gunyah), wiltija, mia-mia, nganu, goondie and wurley.

Myth: Aboriginal people destroy houses

A common misconception among white people is that Aboriginal people willingly destroy the houses they are given by the government.

Sara Hudson from the Centre for Independent Studies in St Leonards, NSW, says that "although vandalism to houses is evident in some communities, the widespread assumption that Aborigines destroy their houses is false" [3]. Rather, "studies conducted over a seven-year period (from 1999 to 2006) found that the major causes of 'house failure' were lack of routine maintenance and faulty construction and design."

"Of the 4,343 houses surveyed in 132 communities, only 11 per cent passed national standard safety. In 50% of houses, there was no tub or bath to wash a child in, and only 35 per cent of houses had a functioning shower."

Architect Paul Pholeros confirms this view. According to his experience, 60% of housing problems arise from poor maintenance, 25% from poor initial construction and only 8% from damage and abuse by its tenants [8].

The state of Indigenous housing across remote Australia is the most visible and enduring evidence of the failure of governments, over decades, to address Indigenous disadvantage.—Jenny Macklin, Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister in 2009 [4]

Poor condition 'endemic'

Australia-wide Aboriginal people suffer from inappropriate and overcrowded housing conditions. Sometimes houses built by the government are left in such a poor state that they are uninhabitable.

In Western Australia a report found that there was an 'epidemic' of abandoned houses in remote communities which were in such a bad state of disrepair that they were a risk to health and safety [2].

About 90% of homes in 130 communities throughout WA needed 'major repairs', prompting the federal government to allocate almost $2 billion for 2008-2018 for Indigenous housing in Australia [2].

Builders cause many housing defects when they use solutions that work in coastal areas but not in remote Australia, Architect Paul Pholeros says [8]. Heater elements which operate for years in water used in coastal areas of Australia are covered with a solid salt crust after a few years of operation in Central Australia. Only 30% of the showers he has seen work, only 10% of the houses had safe electrical installations.

Builders are poorly supervised during the construction process, Mr Pholeros told, and houses not tested after completion. Some builders "take off after 95% of the work is done" leaving the house incomplete: tabs without water, toilets without drains [8]. Some people pay rent for a house that has no running water, no toilet or shower.

It comes to no surprise that Aboriginal people are fed up with their housing conditions. On July 15, 2009 dozens of Ampilatwatja people, three hours north-east of Alice Springs in the centre of Australia, abandoned their community altogether because the sewerage system failed. Raw sewage flooded the streets, a condition described as "the worst he's ever seen anywhere in the nation" by Adam Giles, the Northern Territory opposition spokesperson on Indigenous Policy [7].

Consequently many community members including elders and children walked off, camping in the desert in the dead of the Australian winter. "This is as significant an event to them as the Gurindji Walk-Off, " said Federal Country Liberal Senator for the NT, Nigel Scullion [7].

What's the government doing about housing?

The Australian government is well aware of the dire situation of Aboriginal housing. In 2009 it decided to invest A$5.5 billion into the Strategic Indigenous Housing and Infrastructure Program (SIHIP), which then was the largest Indigenous housing program in Australia – ever [9].

SIHIP was launched in mid-2007 and supposed to provide 4,200 new houses and 4,800 refurbishments over 10 years. But this is Sydney Morning Herald commentator Elizabeth Farrelly's analysis of SIHIP in November 2009:

"In 15 months [SIHIP] hasn't delivered much at all, unless you count the limitless tangle of committees, reports, acronyms, consultancies, policies and, of course, white-collar whitefella jobs. Money has been spent but few houses produced, if any. The number may be none, as many commentators aver, or 102, which is the best gloss even the relevant minister [for Indigenous Affairs], Jenny Macklin, can find for it. Either way, it's pathetic. And the mere fact that it is virtually impossible to check these numbers is itself indicative of the problem."

The first two houses were finally handed over in February 2010 in Wadeye, an Aboriginal community 250km south-west of Darwin, at a cost of $450,000 each [10], indicating the high cost of delivering houses to remote communities.

Repeatedly, government efforts [to fix Aboriginal houses] prove the most expensive and least effective.—Sydney Morning Herald [9]

Overcrowded houses

Overcrowding is a common problem in Aboriginal communities and camps. Houses and tin sheds in Alice Springs' town camp are home to 10 people on average, sometimes to 17 people [5,8], in Mowanjum, an Aboriginal community in Western Australia, about 350 people share 42 houses, most of which have only three bedrooms [3].

Overcrowding leads to stress, fighting, drinking and, in some cases, suicides. Children don't have an environment where they can learn for school, and many develop behavioural problems which negatively impact their life. Diseases spread fast in overcrowded conditions.

Some housing companies use overcrowding as a reason to evict tenants after complaints from neighbours, overlooking that Aboriginal people have cultural obligations to care and look after family and relatives. Camps and houses have always been meeting places, and evicting people when they live their cultural obligations is a racist attitude.

We come from a caring and sharing culture and we don't turn people away who don't have somewhere to sleep. —Charlie Kickett, Nyoongar Elder [2]

There are a number of reasons that family come from their homes in remote communities into town and stay with Aboriginal families. They come in for shopping or visiting family who are in town because they have to be on dialysis.

After waiting for a long time to get a Territory Housing place I was kicked out after only 3 days. I was never told why. Maybe because we sat outside, that's our way, and the white neighbours didn't want us to be there. We weren't making any noise, just sitting outside painting. —an Aboriginal resident [6]

Out of respect for Aboriginal culture I use Indigenous sources as much as possible.
[1] 'Budj Bim becomes first to receive govt heritage funding: Garrett', NIT 14/5/2009 p.7 [2] 'Housing 'needs millions'', Koori Mail 441 p.9 [3] 'Report blasts housing 'inaction'', Koori Mail 447 p.7 [4] 'More housing for remote areas', Koori Mail 448 p.10 [5] 'Decision a 'matter of principle'', Koori Mail 452 p.5 [6] 'Concerns of town camp residents about the Territory Housing takeover', Intervention Rollback Action Group, Alice Springs [7] 'Still no sign of Macklin 3 weeks after walk-off', NIT 6/8/2009 p.4 [8] 'Aboriginal housing', Insight program, SBS One, 27/10/2009 7.30pm [9] 'A shamed nation turns a blind eye', SMH 16/11/2009 [10] 'SIHIP finally delivers', Koori Mail 469 p.4