Carrums early settlers were largely farmers however the railway was bringing holiday makers into the area and it was proving to be a popular seaside resort. With a burgeoning population. It was growing.

Prior to the arrival of the motor car people walked, rode horses or used horse drawn carriages for transport. From the time the first white settlers began arriving in the

Carrum Swamp region right up until fairly recently there have always been people riding around Carrum on horseback.

Not only did people use horses as a mode of transport they also used them to deliver goods. Milk, bread, ice were some of the items delivered by horse and cart. Ice chests were used in most homes to keep produce cold and the iceman in his horse drawn cart delivered solid blocks of ice that were placed in the upper compartment of the ice chest. The arrival of the refrigerator effectively made delivery of ice to homes obsolete.

In the 1950s over the counter sales of bread brought a halt to it being home delivered, however, the milkman continued to deliver milk by horse and cart through to the mid 1970s.

In 1955 Australia’s population reached 9 million. Australia’s economy had rapidly developed and the country had entered into a period of prosperity. The government was keen to raise the standard of living. An aftermath of the second World War was growing tension between communist countries and the democratic capitalist countries. It was called the ‘Cold War’ and it brought forth talk of nuclear war, an arms race and reds under the bed! It was dialogue that frightened many young Australian children.

The basic wage was about twelve pounds and a three bedroom house in Carrum cost around three thousand pounds. ⁽¹⁾ In September 1956 Melbourne GTV 9 and HSV 7 television stations opened In November. The first Olympic Games hosted in the Southern Hemisphere were held in Melbourne. By 1956 the Australian population had reached 10 million.

1. Frost L. Our House: history of Australian Homes._{Retrieved 2009.http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/ahc/publications/commission/books/ourhouse/vic04.html}

Photo courtesy

Picture Collection, State Library Victoria.