A City Lost & Found: Whelan the Wrecker's Melbourne"Old landmarks fall in nearly every block and the face of the city is changing so rapidly that the time is not too far distant when a search for a building 50 years old will be in vain." Herald, 1925. The demolition firm of Whelan the Wrecker was a Melbourne institution for a hundred years (1892 1992). Its famous sign "Whelan the Wrecker is Here" on a pile of shifting rubble was a laconic masterpiece and served as a vital sign of the city's progress.