Housing for the poor was not sanitary, safe and was usually too small for its tenants. Many families had to squeeze into small houses built in cluster rows along a street that would be near factories, where many would generally work. The poor houses would be flooded regularly being close to the Yarra River and all of the water running from the top of the hill would affect them, leaving their houses damaged by water regularly and the need for a secure home (which they did not always have). They were often owned by a rich landlord meaning that they had to pay a rent, which they usually didn’t or struggle to meet and pay. Many families had around 10 people or more in one small cramped house but could not afford a larger one. Houses would usually have 2 rooms, a kitchen and an outside toilet (which was the need for the alleys out the back of houses which became places the children would play). Heating was just a fire place in one of the rooms and the houses had no electricity.
The housing for the poor, named the ‘slums’ would be within a
walking distance from the factories because the people who worked in them would
not be able to afford transport to the factories and enough to support their
family on their little pay. 
For richer families, houses were much less
cramped. They generally lived on top of the hill in Richmond in their large
houses which could be triple the size of the houses of the poor and would still
be considered mansions today. Living at the top of
the hill though, was reserved for the rich. It created a high social status and
would rarely flood, also being close to the local church (being the large St
Ignatius or St Stephens) These houses for the rich would have many
bedrooms, a kitchen and an inside toilet which would be cleaned on a regular
basis. The richer families had a much less chance of catching many of the
diseases that the lower class people did because their houses were much more
sanitary but if there was a change of infection then they could afford proper
treatment, unlike the poor. Many houses would have a garden but more poor
houses would not, just an alleyway out the back that many of the younger
children would play in. Most poor houses were the common iron houses.
These were houses that would be ordered and shipped from overseas flat and
built using materials found in the pack. It was designed for people who had
little or no skills on how to make a house and had no materials to make it
with. They would vary from a small house with only one or two rooms that could
fit two families, one small room that could be divided up into two smaller
rooms, or even large houses with 2 stories and multiple rooms on the first
storey. There houses were made from thin sheets of iron or other metals and
would get very hot or cold, depending on the climate outside and were not meant
to be very secure, mainly because they were bought for such a small price. People
would use the wooden shipping containers that their houses came in as the
interior of the house, stopping it from changing temperatures so immensely. The
very small ones would have one room for the whole family to sleep in and a
kitchen, with an outside toilet and laundry. Larger ones would have an inside
laundry, sitting room and separate bedrooms for the adults and children (if
they were lucky enough to have two stories, then the children would sleep
upstairs) but still an outside toilet, which would usually just be for hygiene
For richer families, houses were much less
cramped. They generally lived on top of the hill in Richmond in their large
houses which could be triple the size of the houses of the poor and would still
be considered mansions today. Living at the top of
the hill though, was reserved for the rich. It created a high social status and
would rarely flood, also being close to the local church (being the large St
Ignatius or St Stephens) These houses for the rich would have many
bedrooms, a kitchen and an inside toilet which would be cleaned on a regular
basis. The richer families had a much less chance of catching many of the
diseases that the lower class people did because their houses were much more
sanitary but if there was a change of infection then they could afford proper
treatment, unlike the poor. Many houses would have a garden but more poor
houses would not, just an alleyway out the back that many of the younger
children would play in. Most poor houses were the common iron houses.
These were houses that would be ordered and shipped from overseas flat and
built using materials found in the pack. It was designed for people who had
little or no skills on how to make a house and had no materials to make it
with. They would vary from a small house with only one or two rooms that could
fit two families, one small room that could be divided up into two smaller
rooms, or even large houses with 2 stories and multiple rooms on the first
storey. There houses were made from thin sheets of iron or other metals and
would get very hot or cold, depending on the climate outside and were not meant
to be very secure, mainly because they were bought for such a small price. People
would use the wooden shipping containers that their houses came in as the
interior of the house, stopping it from changing temperatures so immensely. The
very small ones would have one room for the whole family to sleep in and a
kitchen, with an outside toilet and laundry. Larger ones would have an inside
laundry, sitting room and separate bedrooms for the adults and children (if
they were lucky enough to have two stories, then the children would sleep
upstairs) but still an outside toilet, which would usually just be for hygiene 
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