What's behind Sunshine's roofs
A company town first
In 1904 H.V. McKay bought the Braybrook Implement Works and about 160 hectares for worker housing, and in 1907 the town took the name Sunshine from his Harvester Works.
Bungalows on decent blocks
Victorian Places says inter-war houses here were mostly double-fronted or bungalow style on medium to large allotments.
The early 1950s rush
House building picked up from about 1948. In 1951 alone the municipality added 1,200 houses to a stock of about 5,000, built by co-operatives, the Housing Commission and building societies.
Still mostly houses
At the 2021 Census, 69.2% of occupied dwellings were separate houses and 22.1% semi-detached or townhouses.
Hail and gutters in the west
On 6 March 2010, hail averaged golf-ball size across the city and western suburbs. Wikipedia's account says the roughly 2,000 homes damaged that day were hurt mainly because overloaded gutters led to roof leaks and collapses.
That's the lesson for Sunshine. Clear gutters and free-running downpipes matter as much as sound tiles when a storm comes through. After hail, have a roofer check for cracked tiles and dented gutters, and photograph everything for your insurer. Our page on hail and storm damage repairs covers what's involved.
If your house went up in the post-war boom
Houses from the 1940s and 1950s can contain asbestos cement in eaves, sheds and roofing. Don't let anyone drill, cut or water-blast it until it's been identified. Our asbestos checker helps you weigh up the odds.
What we'd do
If your roof dates from the post-war boom and is showing its age all over, we'd price a restoration and a replacement side by side, once the asbestos question is settled. Either way, we'd keep gutters and downpipes clear before summer storms. Tell us what's going on and your postcode. If there's a licence-checked roofer for Sunshine on our books, we'll pass the job to that one roofer, and if not, you'll know straight away.
Want a roofer to take a look?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match it with a Find My Roofer certified roofer who specialises in that kind of work, and they call you to quote. Your number goes to them alone.
