Leenia, Fitzroy is one of the inner (and northern) suburbs of Melbourne, only a stone's throw from the CBD. In the 1940s, part of it was a slum area with the highest population density in Oz; two storey terrace houses with a frontage of as little as 10' and rarely more than 16', containing rooms where residents didn't rent a room or even a bed, but an eight hour shift in the bed. What running water there was in such houses was usually limited to an outside tap over a gully trap, The bathroom was usually in a lean-to at the rear of the house.

Kids there grew up tough but part of a close-knit working class community. Similar (but not quite as bad) conditions occurrred in the surrounding suburbs away from the CBD area (although young people now would be surprised at how much there has changed too) and most of the slum clearances in the 60s occurred outside of Fitzroy itself. Those suburbs got the high rise concrete blocks while Fitzroy retained most of its houses, which were favoured by uni students in the 60s and 70s. Many of these stayed on and gentrified the place.

Frank Hardy's book "The power and the glory", while centred on Collingwood (a similar and adjacent suburb), would give you some of the flavour of Fitzroy in the 30s and 40s.

Cheers, Rowan