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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-23/whelan-the-wrecker-the-demolition-firm-transformed-melbourne/100342416>
"Jim Whelan was once described as "the most destructive man in Melbourne".
Over almost a century, the demolition firm he set up in the 1880s pulled down
thousands of buildings, including some of the largest and grandest ever built
in the city.
Before his death in 1938, when his sons took over the business and kept it
going through a third generation right up until the early 1990s, Jim was said
to have pulled down more than 1,000 buildings by his own hand.
But perhaps ironically, as the structures were pulled apart piece by the piece,
the act of destruction led to some buildings being fondly remembered in a way
they had never been while standing.
The firm made money from salvaging and selling off the materials from the
demolition, so crews were scrupulous in taking apart the old buildings.
Inevitably, Jim's Brunswick scrap yard became a treasure trove that told the
story of Melbourne and its growing pains, with periods of rapid expansion and
change tempered by protracted lulls, like the one brought about by the Second
World War.
Author Robyn Annear, who researched and wrote a book about the family, said
despite being associated with all the demolitions, in some ways the Whelans
were "into heritage before heritage was a thing".
The family name and the signs that boasted the firm's work became so ubiquitous
that they entered the lexicon of the city's residents."
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
