Skint! Making Do in the Great Depression

It's well known that the Great Depression was a period of terrible hardship. Less considered is the resourcefulness and community spirit that those hardships spawned.

Skint! Making Do in the Great Depression is the first exhibition to focus on Sydney during the worst economic crisis in the city's history. "The Great Depression was particularly devastating for Sydneysiders because Sydney was a port town," exhibition curator Annie Campbell says. "One in three were unemployed in 1933. It was a time filled with despair, but also creativity and resilience."

Incorporating images, objects, oral histories and film obtained from a public call-out, the exhibition explores the experiences of Sydneysiders from all walks of life. "[The Depression] was particularly hard-hitting for those from the working classes," Campbell says. "The only government relief you got was sustenance relief, or 'suso'. They were food coupons, but they were pitiful. It didn't provide a family with the money to buy other necessities, like clothing and shoes." Evictions were rife as out-of-work families failed to meet rental payments and newspapers reported pitched street battles between police and anti-eviction protesters. "Ultimately, many people were forced to live in shanty towns. People also took refuge in caves. We have really poignant images that depict caves and people having to erect makeshift walls with salvaged pieces of wood."

The relatively well-off also suffered during the Depression. "One person we talked to spoke about how her parents had a house as an investment property and when the stock market crashed here, they lost everything, because they couldn't get people to pay their rent." And the conditions for those fortunate enough to have work were dire. "Relief workers were employed by the government to work on public projects, but that work was also rationed - so you would get one week on, one week off. We have a really confronting photograph of relief workers. They're digging a trench at Concord, but they have no shoes on. They're walking on this hard, gravelled surface, carrying spades."

Locating the Depression in historical context is another element the exhibition attempts to highlight. "The Depression occurred after the First World War," Campbell explains. "War veterans wanted to come home and make a new start, but then they were on the breadline. It was a time when Australians were questioning Australian society. They were wondering: what on earth did we fight for?"

At the same time, people were showing great ingenuity in making ends meet: reusing and recycling commodities, growing vegetables and raising chooks, bartering, and sharing recipes and resources. "You see increased levels of community and charitable support for others. A lot of people actually had a lot of pride.  Families would gather around and make soaps and try selling them from door to door. I've heard countless stories about men having to go out and busk."

The exhibition has parallels with the recent Global Financial Crisis. "It's something that everyone can relate to in one way or another," Campbell says. "We had a similar catastrophe, but because of the economic management, because we're more of a service-driven economy, we haven't been so hard hit this time round. The other funny thing is that today we're starting to re-adopt some of the principles from the Great Depression. You have websites like eBay where people are passing on old things. There's a resurgence of vintage clothing. There's this whole idea of recycling and not being so consumer driven and not just shoving everything into landfill." Joanna Lowry

Top 5 Depression-era artefacts

Annie Campbell chooses her favourite objects from the Skint! exhibition

1 Pin cushion "It's been made by a man out of a jam tin and he's gone and sold them door to door. It has been cut down and the sides rolled down and he's gone and put a cushion on the top."

2 Swagman doll "It was made by a mother for her daughter as a Christmas present. She's actually retrieved a doll's head out of a rubbish bin and then made an outfit and a body."

3 Makeshift bicycle "It's been made out of discarded wood. It has cow horns for handlebars and it has pram wheels."

4 Social-realist paintings "We have some poignant artworks that depict the despair and despondency of people when they've got absolutely nothing."

5 Crate chair "It's basically packing crates stacked on top of each other and a piece of wood behind that has been nailed to it. It uses old curtains to pad the chair and also to use as upholstery around the chair. It looks amazing."