Enlistment photo for George Castley, 1942
Title:CASTLEY ANGUS GEORGE : Service Number - 119100
Date: 1942
Angus George Castley (better known as George Castley) was born on 31 March 1909 in Rutherglen. His service record shows that he enlisted on 5 October 1942; he listed his occupation as plaster sheet manufacturer and his wife, Elizabeth Castely, as his next of kin. The RAAF listed his height as 6 ft. 1 inch. George served with the RAAF as an Aircraftsman and was promoted to Leading Aircraftman on 30 July 1943. His character was consistently noted as VG (Very Good) and his performance as SAT (Satisfactory). He was posted to Milne Bay in New Guinea from 13 February 1943 to 25 June 1944. George was discharged on 4 April 1945 to resume his civilian occupation. His intended place of residence was 28 Hobart Rd, Murrumbeena.
Castley Bros Pty Ltd first appeared in print in the Law Notices section of the Argus, on 21 April 1948. The notice announced the intention of Hector Gordon Castley of 38 Haughton Rd, Oakleigh, and Angus George Castley of 27 Hotham Street, Oakleigh, to register the company. Both men stated their occupations as fibrous plaster sheet manufacturers and plasterers. The registered address of their business was 403 Neerim Rd, Murrumbeena. The company was incorporated with £20,000 capital.
It’s unlikely that many people read that 1948 Law Notice, but the company made headlines across many newspapers in late November 1951. By then the company was established at the corner of Millgate Street and Manton Road, Oakleigh South (see Google Maps for the locale) and its workforce members of the Victorian Fibrous Plasterers' Union were on strike. Headlines like Unionists Picket Factory and Police watch pickets at factory accompanied the dispute over the use of non-union labour. (Angus) George Castley said he would truck his non-union workers into the factory with police protection and that “if the pickets try to stop us they'll regret it.” The pickets were withdrawn after the company offered settlement terms including a commitment not to employ non-union labour and an offer to pay £20 “to defray strike expenses.”.
However, that was not the end of the story. The strike had been preceded by an altercation between union secretary, John Connell, and company director Angus George Castley. Connell had accused Castley of assault, a charge that was dismissed at the Oakleigh courthouse when Castley testified that his actions were in self defence. The case was heard after Connell’s lawyer expressed concern about the impartiality of the judges. Castley said that Connell had slapped him in the face and that he had “got in first” and “grabbed him by the throat to hold him off.". Constable A. W. Pascoe gave evidence that, under questioning, Connell admitted that he struck Castley first, as he thought Castley was going to "do him over.". There was a further incident on the street in which no one was harmed. The Bench awarded £ 7/7/ costs against Connell.
Fibrous plaster walled (commonly referred to as fibroplaster or simply fibro) houses were new in the early 1950s. With help from the CSIRO, Tressellian Moritz of South Australia popularised a fibro method of construction that was cheap and fast, building a house a fortnight for the South Australian Housing Trust. George Castley was inspired by the Moritz method and created his own steel reinforced prefabricated plaster house in Oakleigh. To do this, the Castley brothers established Plaster Walls Pty Ltd. The company promoted their new building method at the 1953 Homes Exhibition, displaying a "working cross-section" of a plaster walled house. They made news again with the 1954 event, when The Argus reported that Australia led the world in plaster slab wall construction, and noted that Plaster Walls Ptd Ltd had "begun operations about 18 months ago" and had already built 200 homes using plaster, with 40 more being built.
In September 1953 The Pastoral Times reported that the Australasian Post “recently came out with a big spread on George's Atom-Age plaster house” that was "soundproof, bombproof, and cheaper than weatherboard." According to the periodical, George was "six-feet four" (3 inches taller than the the height recorded in his service record). Mr Castley “was taking it easy a few years back, watching some of the factory hands make fibro-plaster sheets, when it dawned on him that if you could put fibre in plaster to make it pliable among other things, why not put something harder in it to make it strong and tough like cast concrete? Then he heard of a South Australian named Moritz, who had put up more than 100 plaster houses for his State's Housing Trust — cased with brick veener. Big George, as the plaster trade knows him, wasted no time getting into action. He produced some plaster sheets the size of a house wall, cored with steel mesh and tested them for strength” with the aid of the CSIRO. The Pastoral Time continued that it “seemed that the idea was a winner so George formed a company, which built its first house in the Melbourne suburb of Oakleigh a few weeks back. More than 6000 people, including Cabinet Ministers and architects, have caused minor traffic jams ever since, inspecting the atom-proof house.” The company promoted the house in newspapers with advertisements like this one in The Age.
The Pastoral Times article says that “Mr. Castley offered the Oakleigh house for sale for £2250. This contrasts with timber £2650; brick veneer, £3050; solid brick, £4000. And he declares he can cut his £2,250 further... But, he goes on, the outer brick covering is only a weather shield, takes no weight and is not essential. Later, when more houses are built, Castley says he will dispense with the outer brick veneer wall and weatherproof the main plaster wall to cut costs.”
However, The Sun News Pictorial recorded that the house, in Dermot St, Oakleigh South, “cost £2,950, including £300 for the land.”
Angus George Castley died on 31 October 1991 and is buried in the Springvale Botanical Cemetery.
Source: NAA
Series/Control symbol: A9301, 119100
Item ID: 203846534
Item location: Canberra
Enlistment photo for George Castley, 1942
Title:CASTLEY ANGUS GEORGE : Service Number - 119100
Date: 1942
Angus George Castley (better known as George Castley) was born on 31 March 1909 in Rutherglen. His service record shows that he enlisted on 5 October 1942; he listed his occupation as plaster sheet manufacturer and his wife, Elizabeth Castely, as his next of kin. The RAAF listed his height as 6 ft. 1 inch. George served with the RAAF as an Aircraftsman and was promoted to Leading Aircraftman on 30 July 1943. His character was consistently noted as VG (Very Good) and his performance as SAT (Satisfactory). He was posted to Milne Bay in New Guinea from 13 February 1943 to 25 June 1944. George was discharged on 4 April 1945 to resume his civilian occupation. His intended place of residence was 28 Hobart Rd, Murrumbeena.
Castley Bros Pty Ltd first appeared in print in the Law Notices section of the Argus, on 21 April 1948. The notice announced the intention of Hector Gordon Castley of 38 Haughton Rd, Oakleigh, and Angus George Castley of 27 Hotham Street, Oakleigh, to register the company. Both men stated their occupations as fibrous plaster sheet manufacturers and plasterers. The registered address of their business was 403 Neerim Rd, Murrumbeena. The company was incorporated with £20,000 capital.
It’s unlikely that many people read that 1948 Law Notice, but the company made headlines across many newspapers in late November 1951. By then the company was established at the corner of Millgate Street and Manton Road, Oakleigh South (see Google Maps for the locale) and its workforce members of the Victorian Fibrous Plasterers' Union were on strike. Headlines like Unionists Picket Factory and Police watch pickets at factory accompanied the dispute over the use of non-union labour. (Angus) George Castley said he would truck his non-union workers into the factory with police protection and that “if the pickets try to stop us they'll regret it.” The pickets were withdrawn after the company offered settlement terms including a commitment not to employ non-union labour and an offer to pay £20 “to defray strike expenses.”.
However, that was not the end of the story. The strike had been preceded by an altercation between union secretary, John Connell, and company director Angus George Castley. Connell had accused Castley of assault, a charge that was dismissed at the Oakleigh courthouse when Castley testified that his actions were in self defence. The case was heard after Connell’s lawyer expressed concern about the impartiality of the judges. Castley said that Connell had slapped him in the face and that he had “got in first” and “grabbed him by the throat to hold him off.". Constable A. W. Pascoe gave evidence that, under questioning, Connell admitted that he struck Castley first, as he thought Castley was going to "do him over.". There was a further incident on the street in which no one was harmed. The Bench awarded £ 7/7/ costs against Connell.
Fibrous plaster walled (commonly referred to as fibroplaster or simply fibro) houses were new in the early 1950s. With help from the CSIRO, Tressellian Moritz of South Australia popularised a fibro method of construction that was cheap and fast, building a house a fortnight for the South Australian Housing Trust. George Castley was inspired by the Moritz method and created his own steel reinforced prefabricated plaster house in Oakleigh. To do this, the Castley brothers established Plaster Walls Pty Ltd. The company promoted their new building method at the 1953 Homes Exhibition, displaying a "working cross-section" of a plaster walled house. They made news again with the 1954 event, when The Argus reported that Australia led the world in plaster slab wall construction, and noted that Plaster Walls Ptd Ltd had "begun operations about 18 months ago" and had already built 200 homes using plaster, with 40 more being built.
In September 1953 The Pastoral Times reported that the Australasian Post “recently came out with a big spread on George's Atom-Age plaster house” that was "soundproof, bombproof, and cheaper than weatherboard." According to the periodical, George was "six-feet four" (3 inches taller than the the height recorded in his service record). Mr Castley “was taking it easy a few years back, watching some of the factory hands make fibro-plaster sheets, when it dawned on him that if you could put fibre in plaster to make it pliable among other things, why not put something harder in it to make it strong and tough like cast concrete? Then he heard of a South Australian named Moritz, who had put up more than 100 plaster houses for his State's Housing Trust — cased with brick veener. Big George, as the plaster trade knows him, wasted no time getting into action. He produced some plaster sheets the size of a house wall, cored with steel mesh and tested them for strength” with the aid of the CSIRO. The Pastoral Time continued that it “seemed that the idea was a winner so George formed a company, which built its first house in the Melbourne suburb of Oakleigh a few weeks back. More than 6000 people, including Cabinet Ministers and architects, have caused minor traffic jams ever since, inspecting the atom-proof house.” The company promoted the house in newspapers with advertisements like this one in The Age.
The Pastoral Times article says that “Mr. Castley offered the Oakleigh house for sale for £2250. This contrasts with timber £2650; brick veneer, £3050; solid brick, £4000. And he declares he can cut his £2,250 further... But, he goes on, the outer brick covering is only a weather shield, takes no weight and is not essential. Later, when more houses are built, Castley says he will dispense with the outer brick veneer wall and weatherproof the main plaster wall to cut costs.”
However, The Sun News Pictorial recorded that the house, in Dermot St, Oakleigh South, “cost £2,950, including £300 for the land.”
Angus George Castley died on 31 October 1991 and is buried in the Springvale Botanical Cemetery.
Source: NAA
Series/Control symbol: A9301, 119100
Item ID: 203846534
Item location: Canberra