The 50s was very important to post-war reconstruction efforts. The baby boom allowed rapid expansion of towns and cities. The wars leading up to this decade and the Korean War was a time of great technological development and during the 50s this technology would become available to average people.
The first car in Australia was the FX Holden. It was built in 1948 and about 10 were made each day. By 1951 100 cars were manufactured each day. In 1953 Australia's second car was made. It was called the FJ Holden and cost £1074. By 1955 there was about 1 855 000 car in Australia. To accommodate the expansion house began to be built with garages and carports and shopping areas had there parking areas fitted for cars instead of horses. By the end of the decade cars were a part of everyday life.
At the beginning of the decade most planes were propeller powered and the cabins were un-pressurized. This meant plane trips were bumpy and noisy. Planes often had to refuel and could not fly in bad weather. By the end of the decade QANTAS purchased some Boeing 707 jets. This allowed planes to fly for long distances over bad weather and with more passengers.
The first diesel locomotive was released in Australia in 1950. At the time most people still traveled by steam train. In Sydney and Melbourne there were electric trains but these trains didn't travel long distances. The diesel train allowed a smoother ride and less wear and tear was done on the tracks as the train didn't rock as much. At the time almost all long distance journeys were by train.
In 1950 nine out of ten immigrants came by sea. Sea travel was much different in the 1950s then it is today. Ships were not holidays; they were just a means of travel. Most of the time on the ships was spend socializing as there weren't many activities. By the end of the decade this started to change as plane travel was more common and ships became more expensive.
