From the 1950s onwards society, and the economy, had entered a state of change so vast that the 'Whelan the Wrecker Is Here' sign became a powerful symbol of the desire for urban renewal and social change in Victoria, Australia.
Prior to the 1956 Summer Olympics Wreckers, such as Whelan's, were primarily responsible for executing a City of Melbourne by-law, which in 1954 called for the demolition of all cast-iron verandas,[REF] supposedly aimed at removing the risk of pedestrians accidentally colliding with a pole.