Frank Rusconi

Frank Rusconi (20 August 1874 – 21 May 1964) was, together with his brother, Joseph, quarry owner and monumental mason of Gundagai, New South Wales, Australia.

A pair of white marble monuments to the Ryan family at Galong, New South Wales

He was born at Araluen near Braidwood, New South Wales, the son of a Swiss goldminer and monumental mason. After his mother's death, the family returned to Switzerland while Frank was a child. At age 15, he was apprenticed first in Italy and then Switzerland in the marble trade.[1]

Rusconi returned to New South Wales in 1901. He worked with his brother and father near Orange, New South Wales in a marble quarry they had discovered and developed.[1]

He settled at Gundagai in 1905. He died nearly 60 years later in nearby Cootamundra having been an active member of the Gundagai community since settling there.[1]

Notable works are:

  • the Dog on the Tuckerbox - Rusconi made the base of the Dog on the Tuckerbox monument and the rest of the object was cast at 'Oliver's Foundry', Sydney.[2]
  • the Marble Masterpiece, a miniature building constructed of 20,948 individual pieces of marble. Work commenced in 1910 and was completed 28 years later. The work is on display in the Gundagai tourist office.[3]
  • tombstones are at Gundagai, Orange, Cudal and Galong cemeteries; the largest and most dramatic is a pair of white marble monuments to the Ryan family at Galong,
  • two war memorials at Gundagai
  • the marble altar in Tumut Catholic church
  • A monument for a child at Galong
  • Monument at Gundagai
  • Monument at Gundagai
  • Cenotaph at Gundagai, designed and built by Rusconi
  • The Dog on the Tuckerbox
  • Rusconi's "Marble masterpiece"
  • Detail of masterpiece
  • Tools used by Rusconi to carve his masterpiece, now in Gundagai Historical Museum
  • Rusconi's house in Gundagai, 'Araluen' on Sheridan Street near the cenotaph
  • Rusconi's own grave at Gundagai cemetery

References
  1. Kerr, Joan (1988). "Rusconi, Francis Philip (1874 - 1964)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. Retrieved 17 July 2006.
  2. Butcher, C. 2002, Gundagai: A Track Winding Back, AC Butcher, Gundagai, pp 212-213.
  3. Butcher, Cliff (2002). Gundagai: A Track Winding Back. Gundagai, New South Wales, Australia: A. C. Butcher. p. 206. ISBN 0-9586200-0-8.



This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.