Front Yard is the third book in David Wadelton’s tender investigations into Australian suburbia. As with Wadelton’s two previous books Suburban Baroque (2019) and Small Business (2021), Front Yard is once again beautifully designed by Yanni Florence. The focus this time is on front gardens and yards from Melbourne and some parts of regional Victoria: from highly individual and often highly eccentric elaborate presentations displaying the hard work and particular aesthetic tastes of their creators to the sometimes somewhat melancholy front gardens and yards where remnants of former owners’ efforts have fallen into neglect or disrepair. All captured with David’s affectionate and acute eye and point of view.As with my previous two books, the focus is on the period from the 1950s to the 1970s. As a wandering amateur archivist, I’m interested in the changes I’ve seen in my lifetime. With the passing of generations, the process of urban densification and gentrification threatens the existence of these particular cultural manifestations. I’ve taken the photos over the past 12 years. The selection of 90 images is gleaned from a total of almost 1000, recording the hard work of those who go above and beyond in their pursuit of a notable front yard. The suburban vernacular captured in the photographs forms a poignant slice of social history. – David Wadelton108 pages, 23.5 x 23.5 cm, hardcover, M.33 (Melbourne).
