The Lost City of Melbourne

Book to accompany the award winning 2022 feature documentary by Gus Berger.

In the 1850s, Melbourne was the fastest growing city in the world. “They dreamt big, they built big….it was a city jumping out of its skin”. 

Melbourne had become an epicentre of film culture and its hotels, restaurants and cafes became world renowned. However, the attempted ‘modernisation’ of Melbourne in the 1950s destroyed much of the city, including its elegant cinemas and picture palaces. Our buildings were deemed too Victorian, the opposite of a modern metropolis, and Whelan The Wrecker’s demolition blitz began.