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, Peter Rusconi and his Australian-born wife Mary (née McCarthy).[1] Peter Rusconi was responsible for the stonework of the bridge over Majors Creek and the Anglican church in the mining village of the same name.[2]

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.[3]
  • 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.[4]
  • 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

References

  1. Kerr, Joan (1988). Rusconi, Francis Philip (1874–1964). Retrieved 17 July 2006. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  2. Interpretive signage near Majors Creek bridge.
  3. Butcher, C. 2002, Gundagai: A Track Winding Back, AC Butcher, Gundagai, pp 212–213.
  4. Butcher, Cliff (2002). Gundagai: A Track Winding Back. Gundagai, New South Wales, Australia: A. C. Butcher. p. 206. ISBN 0-9586200-0-8.


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