After Jim Whelan set up his demolition business in the 1880s, he was described as "the most destructive man in Melbourne". Before his death in 1938, Jim was said to have pulled down more than 1,000 buildings by his own hand.
In 1921, a member of his demolition crew chiselled words into a stone wall that firmly stuck: 'Whelan the Wrecker is here'. This slogan became his onsite signature and became so ubiquitous that it entered the lexicon of Melbourne.
After his death, Jim's sons took over the business and kept it going through a third-generation right up until the early 1990s. Despite the company's unpopular reputation for pulling down Melbourne buildings, the Whelan's had an appreciation for heritage. They were always ready to salvage parts for re-erection if asked or even to store in their yard in Brunswick.
The company was so successful in Melbourne over such a long time that, in some cases, they demolished the buildings on a site that had replaced something they had demolished previously.
The last relative at the helm of the wrecking business died in 2003, and the company went bankrupt during the early 1990s recession, a year shy of a century, with a legacy of having left Melbourne completely transformed.
In 1921, a member of his demolition crew chiselled words into a stone wall that firmly stuck: 'Whelan the Wrecker is here'. This slogan became his onsite signature and became so ubiquitous that it entered the lexicon of Melbourne.
After his death, Jim's sons took over the business and kept it going through a third-generation right up until the early 1990s. Despite the company's unpopular reputation for pulling down Melbourne buildings, the Whelan's had an appreciation for heritage. They were always ready to salvage parts for re-erection if asked or even to store in their yard in Brunswick.
The company was so successful in Melbourne over such a long time that, in some cases, they demolished the buildings on a site that had replaced something they had demolished previously.
The last relative at the helm of the wrecking business died in 2003, and the company went bankrupt during the early 1990s recession, a year shy of a century, with a legacy of having left Melbourne completely transformed.