Summary

This painted metal sign bears the famous slogan of Whelan the Wrecker - "Whelan the Wrecker is here." See SH 920815 for the possible origins of this slogan. It was donated to the Museum by Myles Welan after his demolition and scrap metal merchant company went into receivership in 1991.

In 1985 the Company lent the Museum, for the SIO Great Exhibition of Victoria, 'the original wrecking bar, contained in a green velvet lined box given to the firm's founder on retirement and inscribed 'For use on Protestant churches only'. His first job was at a Protestant church and he is said to have exclaimed 'In Ireland we used to do it for free.' A copy of the catalogue is held in the supplementary file for this object.

In her book on the company, "A City Lost and Found", Robyn Annear gave a different version of the story. The church in question was St. James' Old Cathedral, Melbourne's first Anglican Cathedral, which was once in the middle of a five-acre reserve that ran along William Street, right across the block from Collins to Burke Street. The Cathedral was set back in the reserve, near the corner of William and Collins Streets. Early in his career demolishing buildings, company founder Jim Whelan was paid a to move the former cathedral (which had already been supplanted by St. Paul's as the diocesan seat) to a new location in King Street, West Melbourne, where it stands today.

According to Annear, "Aside from his fee, Jim Whelan didn't carry much away from the St James' job. The only lasting trace would be an in-house joke that ran like this - One of Whelan's men wrote to his folks in Ireland: 'Australia's a great country. Back home we wreck Protestant churches for nothing; here they pay you to do it.' Years later, an alleged relic would occupy pride of place at Whelan the Wrecker headquarters. It was a wrecker's bar with the inscription 'Used for wrecking Protestant churches.'" See 'A City Lost and Found: Whelan the Wrecker's Melbourne', Black Inc., Melbourne, 2005, pp.16-22.

Physical Description

Metal sign painted white with orange coloured metal frame and red and black lettering spray painted on front. Two holes across top and bottom. Back of sign is orange.

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