Previous Find of the Month - 01/2022


January 2022

Huts, Houses or Halls?

Canberra's Riverside Hostel

Aerial view showing the Riverside Hostel in the foreground1

ArchivesACT’s January Find of the month is on the Riverside Hostel. The site used for the hostel was first known as Rottenbury Hill, or ‘Riverview’ due to its location. When the buildings arrived it was referred to as the Riverside Hostel or Riverside Buildings. The buildings were located in Barton, between what was then known as Bowen Drive and Blackall Street. It was built in 1947 from barrack-like huts, erected to house immigrant building workers from the United Kingdom.i When they were no longer required as accommodation for the workers, the huts were leased out to a diverse group of community groups to support their various activities and meetings. The files identified on the hostel and its buildings record the origins of the huts and tell how the Canberra community made use of them as its priorities changed over time.

Locality plan showing the proposed site location2

Much of the building growth in Canberra stalled during World War II but this didn’t stop the planning for growth that was forecast to occur following the war. A site was put aside in September 1944 to accommodate some 600 skilled immigrant tradesmen from the United Kingdom who would help build the increased housing that would be required. A site was chosen in Barton between the Molonglo River (now lake Burley Griffin) and Brisbane Avenue. Following the requisite approval from the Minister for the Interior and the National Capital Planning and Development Committee, the project was allocated a budget of ₤80,000 to start the construction in 1946 ‘on the understanding that it would be removed in a few years when the necessity for such camps should cease to exist’.ii This is despite some objection from the Superintendent of Parks & Gardens Lindsay Pryor, who only learnt of the proposal for the workmen’s camp ‘by seeing the pegs on the ground’. He complained that construction work would require the removal of some trees and

many more trees will be destroyed directly or indirectly during the course of occupation of the camp…the development of the site, which is a valuable park area, will be very considerably prejudiced by this innovation, and I suggest that even at this late stage every effort should be made to review the position with a view to establishing the camp in some alternative position where these objections do not apply.iii


Pryor’s objections were to no avail. The plan to use the Barton site proceeded, maybe influenced by the availability of nearby recreational facilities like tennis courts, the Kurrajong Hotel and a section of the Molonglo River designated as a ‘swimming pool’. The original budget allowed for the purchase and demolition of an Army camp at Narellan near Camden in Sydney and its subsequent transport and re-erection in Canberra, although the project was later allocated additional funds of ₤29,000 in 1947.iv

The hostel was closed for the purpose of housing workmen in 1951 but many of the huts remained in place and were soon refurbished.v By August 1952 all Commonwealth departments had been given the opportunity to make use of the huts at Riverside as storage space, some of which took up the offer. They were by then also being offered under lease to organisations and clubs, offers that were eagerly accepted by groups looking for premises to operate from. The site evolved to become a busy community hub. The Canberra Times reported that

Riverside Hostel is coming to life again after more than a year as a “ghost town”. By the end of 1953 it is hoped that Riverside will be the centre of agricultural and community activities in Canberra…A committee comprising one member of each of the clubs involved has been formed under the Chairmanship of Mr Ernest Frohlich, an enthusiastic supporter of culture and the arts. The committee meets regularly to discuss plans for the formation of the cultural and arts centre of the National Capital.vi

Plan showing lessees of the Riverside huts circa 19523


The Department of the Interior raised files for each of the huts that were leased to the community organisations and clubs. For a group to be allocated a hut on the site they had to sign a leasing agreement, take out fire insurance and keep the hut in a state of good repair. The length of the leases and the fees charged changed over time and the lease agreement was subject to a clause allowing each hut to be taken back by the Commonwealth if it was needed to be used for other purposes. Familiar groups such as the Australian Red Cross Society, Boys Scouts Association and the Canberra Australian National Football League were among those taking advantage of the facilities, but some lesser-known groups like the Canberra Radio Club, Canberra Poultry Club and the Young Contingent of Victoria League also took up leases.

Acceptance of lease - Canberra Australian National Football League4


Some of the files also record changes to the lessees occupying the huts. St John’s Ambulance required hut 27 to conduct meetings and hold classes on first aid and home nursing up until 1960 when the ACT Amateur Boxing Club took over the lease.  Another example is hut number 26 which was originally leased by the Canberra Amateur Billiards Association but later occupied by the Canberra Fitness Club.

The ACT Advisory Council minutes reveal that a planning program was underway in 1962 to assess the existing land use of the Riverside site. It was expected that all the buildings would be removed with no likelihood that alternative sites would be provided for the community groups in the area. The huts were still onsite in April 1966 but, once removed, it was thought the land could be used for ‘some sort of residential accommodation’ such as hotels.vii Unfortunately the files don’t give details on when each hut was removed or where they were relocated, however we do know that a business operating under the name of Riverside Canteen was still trading in 1969 from hut 16.viii

There was still one hut being used for storage in August 1978 by the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs. A large apartment complex now occupies the site of the old Riverside Hostel in what is now a prime Barton location in close proximity to Lake Burley Griffin, various Commonwealth department offices and Parliament House. It seems each of the huts were removed and again relocated to various parts of Canberra.

References

i Alan Foskett - Homes for the Workers – A History of Canberra’s Seven Post Second World War Workmen’s Hostels
ii ArchivesACT, TL6133 – Riverside Hostel.
iii ibid
iii ibid
iv Alan Foskett – A Home in the Capital – Stories about life in Canberra’s Hostels. P. 204
v Canberra Times Wednesday 31 December 1952. p. 4. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2872100
vi ArchivesACT, 1962/74 – Riverside Buildings.
vii ArchivesACT, A921-F3690 – Riverside Canteen.

Files used

TL64/2235 – Riverside Hostel - Hut 1 – Australian Red Cross Society
TL64/2248 – Riverside Hostel – Hut 6 – Canberra Poultry Club
TL64/2236 – Riverside Hostel – Hut 7 – Artists’ Society of Canberra
TL64/2202 - Riverside Hostel – Hut 7 – ACT Amateur Boxing Club
TL64/2201 - Riverside Hostel – Hut 26 – Canberra Fitness Club
TL64/2197 - Riverside Hostel – Hut 16 – Young Contingent of Victoria League
TL64/2199 - Riverside Hostel – Hut 20 - Canberra Repertory Society
TL64/2192 - Riverside Hostel – Hut 8 - Canberra Art Club
TL64/2193 - Riverside Hostel – Hut 9 – Canberra Photographic Society
TL64/2195 - Riverside Hostel – Hut 13 – Canberra Chess Club
TL64/2237 - Riverside Hostel – Hut 5 - Canberra Boy Scouts Association
TL64/2194 - Riverside Hostel – Hut 12 - Canberra National Football League
TL64/2491 - Riverside Hostel – Now Hut 4 - Canberra Radio Club
TL64/2196 - Riverside Hostel – Hut 14 - ACT Table Tennis Club
1962/74 – Riverside Buildings
A921-F3690 – Riverside Canteen

Images

1.Courtesy of the ACT Heritage Library – 009627
2.ArchivesACT, TL6133 - Riverside Hostel
3.ArchivesACT, TL64/2491 – Riverside Hostel – Now Hut 4 – Canberra Radio Club
4.ArchivesACT, TL64/2194 – Riverside Hostel – Hut 12 – Canberra Australian National Football League

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