The Strathfield South Public Housing Project of the late 1940s was designed to alleviate chronic housing shortages following World War II (WWII) and to provide quality housing for lower income family, especially returned servicemen. The 1930s Depression followed by World War II, lead to a virtual cessation of building activity in NSW. The NSW Government estimated in 1946 that 80,000 homes were not built because of the Depression and another 80,000 were not built due to the WWII. It was estimated by the end of WWII that Sydney had a shortfall of 90,000 houses and return of ex-servicemen would exacerbate the demand for housing.
In 1945, the NSW Government compulsorily acquired land from the trustees of the Ebenezer Ford estate in Strathfield South in the area including streets such as High, Amaroo, Noble and Macarthur. The Housing Commission developed a new subdivision plan, involving the redesign of 108 land lots. 3 lots were allocated for a park, which was later known as Edwards Park. It was estimated that this new estate would provide accommodation for over 400 people, housed in single storey separate dwellings and gardens with either two or three bedrooms.
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