In one of our recent Finds of the Month we wrote about a survey completed to document the number of front fences that had been erected on the boundaries of Canberra housing blocks, and mused that it seemed like a curious project for the National Capital Development Commission (NCDC) to undertake. So much so that we thought it might be worth investigating why it was felt there was a need to complete the survey and whether it resulted in any changes to Canberra's 'no front fences' policy. A recently revealed Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly (HoA) file dating from the period gives us a good summary of the reasons why the front fences survey was done as well as some of the information it collected and how it was used.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In August 1982, Independent Member for the House of Assembly John Clements issued a press release to say that he was making arrangements for the 'Fence Defence Committee' to meet with the Minister for the Capital Territory, Michael Hodgman, to present him with a petition in favour of a change to the front fence policy. It is said the petition contained more than 8000 signatures. Mr Hodgman issued his own statement for the press one week later in which he is quoted as saying ''the policy had been in existence since the early 1920s and was adopted to achieve the 'Garden City' character for which Canberra had become justly famous''. He continued: "I believe the policy serves an important purpose and, in principle, should be maintained. I believe also that it would be supported by the majority of Canberrans. However, I accept that there may be special circumstances under which front fences might, on humanitarian grounds, be permitted to meet particular needs.''
The correspondence contained in the HoA file suggests some residents felt the policy was discriminatory and a denial of basic human rights related to safety and security of families and their property. The Canberra Times reported in November 1982 that the number of signatures on the petition had grown to 'about 9000'. It asked the NCDC to commit to report on the situation early in 1983 and to organise for students from ANU and Canberra College of Advanced Education to catalogued all front fences in Canberra. There was no time wasted. The NCDC quickly organised willing teams of students to work through the streets of Canberra, cataloguing and indexing any structures erected on the front boundary of housing blocks deemed to be a fence.
In February 1983 the NCDC review of the 'no front fence' policy was still in progress. A lobby group, the Fence Defence Committee, was formed but there was also considerable support for the existing policy. The arguments put forward for front fences are well summed up by a poem written by David Swain and published in The Canberra Times. It was also recited in the House of Assembly and recorded in the Hansard.
NCDC spare my fence
In spite of your taboo.
My garden was besieged by dogs.
They used it as a loo.
And very popular with kids
Who spent their leisure hours
Discharging stones and fireworks
At all my shrubs and flowers.
Another thing: my garden gave
A colourful display
Of fast-food wraps and lolly bags
Blown on a windy day.
Your garden-city concept's good;
A tribute to your labours.
But there's a proverb you've ignored:
Good fences make good neighbours.
The 'no front fence' debate was, however, causing 'a considerable uproar in the press and in the community and the House of Assembly was keen to have the matter dealt with so instructed its Standing Committee on Development and Planning to report on an appropriate policy. Despite this the NCDC was still working through its policy review when the Standing Committee tabled its report to the HoA in May 1983. The report revealed that the Commission's review was not a review of the 'no front fence' policy, but a review to consider whether there were ''any special circumstances in which front fences might be permitted and to the particular conditions which should apply in such cases''. This heralded a compromise that the NCDC considered to be the ''optimum solution''.
Having analysed the results of the 62,700 detached and semi-detached Canberra houses indexed in the December 1982 survey, the NCDC found that 3600 structures were located in front of the building line. About half of these were considered to be fences built on the block's forward boundary. In October 1983 the Commission distributed a draft policy that argued: ''It would not be feasible to introduce fences which would be of sufficient height to provide an adequate physical barrier without detriment to the established streetscape.'' However the Commission recognised it was still necessary to allow privacy, security or noise attenuation. To meet these needs the Commission proposed that residents be permitted to erect a front courtyard.
In the end there was a need for a compromise. The NCDC didn't want to depart from the policy on front boundary fences that had existed since the 1920s but recognised that security and privacy were a concern for some residents.
The changes made in 1984 introduced arrangements that are very similar to the present-day requirements.
- To contribute to this column, email history@canberratimes.com.au.
