August, 191::. 



History of the Month. 



XXXV. 



Photo 



Miss Snelson. 



N'dsing- house is simply a pl.ice to f.it and 

 slet-p in. It tht^ Y.W.C.A. idt-al can be realised, 

 it will mean a eomfortable home, with the home 

 asl>^■t emphasised, and all th.it that will mean to a 

 girl in a great city, as compared with a place, not 

 too comfortable, where she simply eats and sleeps. 

 There is one error that, to our mind, the Association 

 is making. It is projecting putting its building up 

 in the heart of the city. There will be nothing but 

 the building. How much better would it be if it 

 s<-cure(l land, say, along the St. Kilda-road. or 

 somewhere adjoining the huge parks that lie along 

 the east and south-east of the city. It would he 

 adja<-ent to the <'ity — only a few minutes' travel 

 away— and provision could Y>e made for tennis, and 

 anv .imount of oiit-door life around the home. It 

 would Ix- as supirior lo the city home, as that home 

 will be to the present lodging-house that girls have 

 to patronise to ilay. It is worth considering. 



A move is on foot in Melbourne 



Slum uhirh may well be imitated by every 



AbolKioa. ,.i,y anj (Q^y„ ;„ ,he Common- 



rt<'alth. .Although the question has 

 been discussed in an academic fashion for years, 

 it remained for a somewhat unknown .society to 

 bring it into prominence enough to ensure it some 

 pros|iect of prai lii'al result. The Coburg Baptist 

 Debating .Society. (Coburg is one of the suburbs on 

 the northern edge of Melbourne), has the good for- 

 tune to i>ossess a ■^■cretary in the [)ers<'>n of Mr. J. 

 3. Huggau, who is an enthusiast on the question of 

 doinf; away with slum areas, and preventing th'-ir 

 ■iirther accirmulntion. He recommends that " ,dl 



that is required is that our laws be so ;iniended that 

 the Registrar of Titles should be debarred from ac- 

 cepting anv further plans of subdivision of land in 

 our outer suburbs, esp<"cially land now u.sed as 

 paddocks, etc.. unless such plan shows each road 

 not less than 66 ft. wide, and each allotment with 

 a frontage of not less than 50 ft. by 150 ft., or an 

 area of not less than 7500 square feet, and that 

 no certificate of title should l>e issued unless the 

 above conditions are complied with ; with an en- 

 cumbrance marked on the title, that only one dwel- 

 ling be permitted to be erected on such allotment." 

 .So far Mr. Huggan has succeeded, surely beyond 

 his expectations, lor he has received enthusiastic 

 promises of support from public bodies, societies of 

 all kinds, and last, but most important, from seve- 

 ral municipal councils. Indeed, there might be 

 more unlikelv things happen than some Government 

 assistance to get the principle embodied in Victorian 

 legislation this session. What neeii there is for it 

 in Australia evervone kntTws. In all the large cities 

 houses are, in some parts, huddling together as 

 though there was no r<x>m outsidi-. .And yet, 

 around all our cities — take Sydney and Melbourne, 

 for example — there is room for expansion on every 

 side. Look at Collingwood in Melbourne, and 

 Wnoll<x>mooloo in Sydney. Hou.ses stand crowded 

 together there as though all the hoary old sins of 

 (^reedv, grasping landlordism, were here in full 

 maturity. With electric tranvs coming along at 

 lightning spe<-d to .solve suburban transit problems, 

 no State ought to l>e backward in passing legislation 

 on the lines indicated. .And then, main of the 

 dreams nl ihe reform'-rs will be realised, for, with 



