Rusconi’s Marble Masterpiece
Where: Gundagai Visitor Information Centre
Phone: (02) 6944 0250
Step inside the Gundagai Visitor Information Centre and discover a story that spans continents, generations, and nearly three decades of dedication.
At the centre of it all is Rusconi’s Marble Masterpiece, a breathtaking miniature cathedral handcrafted from thousands of pieces of marble and built entirely by hand.
To understand the masterpiece, you first need to understand the man behind it.
Frank Rusconi was born in 1874 in Araluen, New South Wales, before being taken to Switzerland as a young boy. It was there, and later in Italy and France, that he trained in the marble trade, working on major buildings including Westminster Cathedral and the Sacré-Cœur in Paris.
Despite his success overseas, Rusconi returned to Australia with something to prove. At a time when Australian marble was dismissed as inferior, he became determined to change that. His work at the Borenore Marble Quarries near Orange helped reveal the quality and beauty of local stone and laid the foundation for a regional industry.
In 1910, Rusconi began work on what would become his life’s masterpiece. For nearly 30 years, working just a few hours each day, he carefully shaped and assembled more than 20,000 individual pieces of marble. Every piece was cut, turned and polished by hand using tools he made himself, including a treadle lathe built from a sewing machine. No plans or drawings were ever used.
This is more than a model. It is a statement. Rusconi created the masterpiece to prove that Australian marble could stand alongside the finest in the world, and in doing so told a much bigger story of craftsmanship, patience and regional pride.
Today, the masterpiece is on display at the Gundagai Visitor Information Centre, alongside the original tools he used and marble samples from across the region, currently on loan from the Gundagai Museum.
It is one of those experiences that surprises people and one you will not forget.
Location: Gundagai Visitor Information Centre
Cost: Adults $5 | Pensioners $3 | Children $2 | Family $10 | Coaches $3 pp