About: Melbourne's Lost Victorian Landmarks

Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, Australia, was an important Victorian-era city and erected "some of the world's most majestic buildings" of the era. Several buildings survive from the period, including the State Library of Victoria (1856), Parliament House (1856), the General Post Office (1867 and 1887), the Royal Exhibition Building (1880), the Windsor Hotel (1884), the Block Arcade (1893), and the Rialto Building Group (1888–1891). However, many of the well-known architectural gems of Melbourne's Victorian central city were demolished in the 20th century. Some were lost in preparation for the 1956 Summer Olympics when Melbourne sought to reinvent itself as a modern, post-war city. Whelan's or Whelan the Wrecker was a well-known demolition company that was responsible for at least thi