|
1930
The Elizabeth
Bay mansion, Boomerang, was completed for the Albert family, music publishers
and retailers best known for their Boomerang Songbooks.
The six-bedroom, seven bathroom Morroccan inspired villa was Melocco
Brothers’ most elaborate domestic commission, featuring great expanses
of mosaic, ornate fountains and relief sculpture for fireplaces.
By the middle of the year, work in the marble, mosaic and decorative
plaster trades had declined significantly. The building industry had
been hit hard by the economic downturn. Galli proposed concrete road
work and Road Constructors Pty Ltd was formed with Galli as manager.
Their first job was the tiny Onslow Place, behind Elizabeth Bay House
in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. A great number of Department of Main Roads
and Council contracts followed and ultimately led to the company’s involvement
in pre-mixed concrete.
“My
father spent hours every day on the phone ringing architects, builders,
anyone he knew, and asking if they had work for his men. He was offering
to do brickwork, a bit of concreting, anything because they had amassed
a very large workforce throughout the twenties and my father was determined
to keep them employed.” — John Melocco
|