Jump to content

Whelan the Wrecker

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
'Whelan The Wrecker Is Here', now in the collection ofMuseums Victoria
Sign advertising Whelan the Wrecker in 1968

Whelan the Wreckeris a family owned and operateddemolitioncompany that has operated from 1892, based inBrunswickin the city ofMelbourne.The company became well known through the 1950s and 1970s when signs stating that "Whelan the Wrecker is Here" appeared on many of the grandVictorian era buildingsof Melbourne.

A history of change

[edit]

As every city grows, it inevitably has to demolish buildings to build new ones, and as time goes by the buildings demolished can become old and historic, or simply large and long existing landmarks. Melbourne was founded in 1835, then grew enormously following the 1850sgold rush,and even more in the speculative land boom of the 1880s, which was followed by a severe crash in the 1890s. By the early years of the 20th century, the city was old enough and large enough to require specialist demolition companies.

As the thousands of soldiers arrived back from the battlefields following the end of World War I there emerged a sense of renewed pride and a willingness to forget the dark days of war. The Council of theCity of Melbournewas no doubt buoyed by this new nationalistic pride and put in place schemes to modernize the city which included increasing the building height limit and removing some of the Victorian era cast ironwork.

A wrecking crew in action on a building.The Agec. 1932

In the years leading up toWorld War IIthe Whelan firm had already pulled down thousands of structures in both the city and surrounding suburbs. James Paul Whelan's obituary of 1938 suggests that his company had the task of demolishing up to 98% of buildings marked for removal in the city alone.[1]

The years after World War II saw economies around the world boom like never before; in Australia the change did not begin until the post-war restrictions on building materials were lifted in the early 1950s. In architecture and city development, this boom went hand in hand with notions of modernity, particularly the rise ofInternational Modernism,a new approach that valued replacing older, elaborate inefficient buildings with sparkling new ones. An early example of this was aCity of Melbourneby-law in 1954 that mandated the demolition of all postedcast-ironverandas,[2]thought to be dangerous as well as old fashioned, in order to 'clean up' the city before the1956 Summer Olympics.

From the later 1950s, the city entered a state of change so vast that the "Whelan the Wrecker Is Here" sign became a powerful symbol. At first, the losses of this period were labeled as "progress", but as more and more large and well-loved landmarks faced demolition, some mourned the losses. Whelan the Wrecker was by far the biggest demolition company in the city and won the most contracts, and as the company responsible for the demolition of what some saw as part of the national heritage led to calls to preserve what was left; theNational Trust of Victoriawas formed in 1956, but it wasn't until 1974 that the first legislation allowed for the legal preservation of heritage buildings.[citation needed]

Family business

[edit]

Whelan's was a family business, established in 1892 when James Paul Whelan began with the 'wrecking' of an unsold housing estate in Brunswick, Victoria. When James died in 1938 his funeral was attended by a number of Melbourne identities including members of Parliament, the Master Builders Association and Melbourne City Council,[3]and the business passed to his three sons. 'Young' Jim Whelan became the next head of the firm,[4]who was in turn succeeded by his nephew (1932-2003). The company went into liquidation and ceased operations in 1992.[5]The Whelan family were high-profile members of the Catholic community and were credited as being a "generous and practical benefactor of the Christian Brothers".[6]

Despite the company's unpopular reputation, the Whelans have always had an appreciation for heritage, and were always ready to salvage parts for re-erection if asked, or even just to store in their yard in Brunswick. The bookA City Lost & Found: Whelan the Wrecker's Melbourne,by Robyn Annear, published in 2006,[4]highlights many examples.[7]For instance, the bronze sculptural groupCharity Being Kind to the Poorover the entry to the Equitable Building inCollins Streetwas donated to Melbourne University. The statues from the corner of theFederal Hotelwere also saved in 1971, and eventually found their way into the McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park. When the company folded in 1991, Myles Whelan donated over 170 pieces to theMelbourne Museum.[8]

The company was so successful over such a long time that in some cases they demolished the buildings on a site that had replaced something they had demolished previously. For instance, in 1909-12 Whelan's demolished the extensive 1840s-50s buildings of the Melbourne Hospital to make way for a new hospital, and in 1991 they demolished much of theEdwardian replacement.In 1958 they demolished Melbourne Mansions at 95 Collins Street, Melbourne's first and grandest block of apartments built in 1906, to make way for the 26-storeyCRA Building,then Melbourne's tallest, which then became the tallest building in Australia ever to be demolished when Whelan's was given the job in 1987.

Some well known Melbourne buildings identified inA City Lost & Found: Whelan the Wrecker's Melbourneinclude:

Some of the company's more unusual demolition jobs included;

During the late 1980s the business expanded to include its own rubbish removal company designated Whelan Kartaway Pty Ltd, formed when it took over the Kartaway skip company.[12]

[edit]
  • Nick Cave and the Bad Seedswrote and released a song called "Whelan the Wrecker" in 1989, onThe Road To God Knows Wherealbum, which was inspired by the urban myths of Whelan the Wrecker.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^Obituary "WHELAN THE WRECKER"(1938, March 3).The Argus(Melbourne), p. 3. Retrieved February 22, 2014
  2. ^Doyle, Helen.(2011).Thematic History – A history of the City of Melbourne's urban environment.Context, Brunswick
  3. ^Whelan's Funeral(1938, March 4).The Argus(Melbourne), p. 2. Retrieved February 23, 2014
  4. ^abAnnear, Robyn (26 March 2014).A City Lost and Found: Whelan the Wrecker's Melbourne.Black Inc.ISBN978-1-922231-41-3.
  5. ^"Wreck, ruin and glory".The Age.1 August 2005.Retrieved18 March2020.
  6. ^Stewart, Ronald (2000).The Spirit of North 1903-2000.St Joseph's College, Melbourne,North Melbourne
  7. ^Allam, Lorena (18 September 2005)."Whelan the Wrecker was here".Hindsight.ABC Radio National.Retrieved2 February2015.
  8. ^"A Whelan history timeline".whelanwarehouse.au.Retrieved18 March2020.
  9. ^"DEMOLISHING TEMPLE COURT"(1923, July 11).The Argus(Melbourne), p. 17. Retrieved February 22, 2014
  10. ^"WHELAN THE WRECKER IS HERE"(1932, January 23).The Argus(Melbourne), p. 6. Retrieved February 22, 2014
  11. ^Danno.Little Audrey. (Blog entry) Retrieved on 22 February 2014
  12. ^Kartaway. Celebrating 120 years of service and reliability.Retrieved on 22 February 2014
[edit]