The demolition firm of Whelan the Wrecker was a Melbourne institution for a hundred years (1892 - 1992). Its famous sign - 'Whelan the Wrecker Was Here' on a pile of smoking rubble - was a laconic masterpiece and served as a vital sign of the city's progress. In A City Lost and Found, Robyn Annear uses Whelan's demolition sites as portals to explore layers of the city laid bare by their pick - axes and iron balls. This is a book about the making - and remaking of a city.