South Australian Housing Trust
Encyclopedia
The South Australian Housing Trust (SAHT) was a statutory authority established by the of the Government of South Australia
responsible for providing low-cost rental housing
to working people and their families.
(LCL) government established the SAHT as Australia's first state housing authority in 1936. It was conceived not as a means of improving living standards through improved housing or town planning but as a tool in the government's emerging plan for attracting industrial investment by keeping labour costs below those in the main rival states of New South Wales
(NSW) and Victoria
. This role was most developed during Thomas Playford's
26 years as LCL premier (1938–1965). Playford supported the expansion of the SAHT as a major state enterprise and as a key instrument in the economic policies initiated by his predecessor as premier, Richard Butler
.
As these policies were principally concerned with promoting industrial development and population growth, their effects were concentrated on Adelaide. Most scholars acknowledge that the main outcome of Playford's administration was a hastened rate of industrialisation. Rather than industrialisation itself, the most tangible outcome of Playford era policies was a new metropolitan Adelaide. A role as urban developer was implicit in the Trust's founding purpose of constructing workers' cottages on a scale sufficient to restrain rents in Adelaide generally and stimulate the private building industry. From its inauguration in 1937, the SAHT board embarked upon a wider metropolitan planning role in its selection of sites for housing estates. These inadvertent urban planning roles became more self-conscious and more extensive from the late 1940s as Playford supported industrial development by creating or greatly expanding State enterprises such as the Electricity Trust of South Australia
and the SAHT. The urban policy role of the SAHT was part of the government's strategies of general industrial development. The undertaking of explicitly urban development roles was also due to the restructuring of the SAHT during the mid-1940s, with additional staff and responsibilities, a new chairman (Jack Cartledge) and general manager (Alex Ramsay). Cartledge and Ramsay were highly intelligent and capable men who created the post-war organisation with its pervasive powers and directed the SAHT for the remaining years of the Playford government. Both men were conscious of the role of the SAHT in determining the overall direction of urban growth, and not merely contributing to it.
); as de facto metropolitan planner, integrating factory development and housing and extending the suburbs; and as a major State planner, particularly in relation to industrialisation and immigration.
Government of South Australia
The form of the Government of South Australia is prescribed in its constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then...
responsible for providing low-cost rental housing
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
to working people and their families.
History
South Australia's Liberal and Country LeagueLiberal and Country League
The Liberal and Country League was a major political party in South Australia throughout its forty year existence. Thirty-four years were spent in government, in part due to the electoral malapportionment known as the Playmander, introduced after coming to power.Created on 9 June 1932 as the...
(LCL) government established the SAHT as Australia's first state housing authority in 1936. It was conceived not as a means of improving living standards through improved housing or town planning but as a tool in the government's emerging plan for attracting industrial investment by keeping labour costs below those in the main rival states of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
(NSW) and Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. This role was most developed during Thomas Playford's
Thomas Playford IV
Sir Thomas Playford, GCMG was a South Australian politician. He served continuously as Premier of South Australia from 5 November 1938 to 10 March 1965, the longest term of any elected government leader in the history of Australia. His tenure as premier was marked by a period of population and...
26 years as LCL premier (1938–1965). Playford supported the expansion of the SAHT as a major state enterprise and as a key instrument in the economic policies initiated by his predecessor as premier, Richard Butler
Richard Butler (Australian politician)
Sir Richard Butler was an Australian politician and Premier of South Australia.-Early life:Butler was born at Stadhampton, near Oxford, England, elder son of Richard Butler, pastoralist, and his wife Mary Eliza, née Sadler. The family emigrated to South Australia, arriving in Adelaide on 8 March...
.
As these policies were principally concerned with promoting industrial development and population growth, their effects were concentrated on Adelaide. Most scholars acknowledge that the main outcome of Playford's administration was a hastened rate of industrialisation. Rather than industrialisation itself, the most tangible outcome of Playford era policies was a new metropolitan Adelaide. A role as urban developer was implicit in the Trust's founding purpose of constructing workers' cottages on a scale sufficient to restrain rents in Adelaide generally and stimulate the private building industry. From its inauguration in 1937, the SAHT board embarked upon a wider metropolitan planning role in its selection of sites for housing estates. These inadvertent urban planning roles became more self-conscious and more extensive from the late 1940s as Playford supported industrial development by creating or greatly expanding State enterprises such as the Electricity Trust of South Australia
Electricity Trust of South Australia
The Electricity Trust of South Australia was the South Australian Government-owned monopoly vertically integrated electricity provider...
and the SAHT. The urban policy role of the SAHT was part of the government's strategies of general industrial development. The undertaking of explicitly urban development roles was also due to the restructuring of the SAHT during the mid-1940s, with additional staff and responsibilities, a new chairman (Jack Cartledge) and general manager (Alex Ramsay). Cartledge and Ramsay were highly intelligent and capable men who created the post-war organisation with its pervasive powers and directed the SAHT for the remaining years of the Playford government. Both men were conscious of the role of the SAHT in determining the overall direction of urban growth, and not merely contributing to it.
Post-World War II
After the Second World War the Trust became one of the most powerful of the State authorities. Many new activities were supported by Playford, which enabled the SAHT to act as a total development authority, so that it could foster new suburban areas, industrial and economic development, and population expansion. The SAHT thus operated as "metropolitan planner" at several levels simultaneously: as formal town planner (at ElizabethElizabeth, South Australia
Elizabeth is a northern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of Playford.-History:Elizabeth was established in 1955 as part of a planned satellite town by the South Australian Housing Trust on rural land between the older towns of Salisbury and...
); as de facto metropolitan planner, integrating factory development and housing and extending the suburbs; and as a major State planner, particularly in relation to industrialisation and immigration.