Bank of New South Wales

Not to be confused with State Bank of New South Wales.

The Bank of New South Wales (BNSW), also known commonly as The Wales, was the first bank in Australia, being established in Sydney in 1817 and situated on Broadway. During the 19th century, the bank opened branches throughout Australia and New Zealand, expanding into Oceania in the 20th century. It merged with many other financial institutions, finally merging with the Commercial Bank of Australia in 1982 and being renamed to the Westpac Banking Corporation on 4 May that year under the Bank of New South Wales (Change of Name) Act 1982.^[1]

Bank of New South Wales

Coat of Arms, granted in 1931.
Industry	Financial services
Founded	8 April 1817 (1817-04-08) in Sydney, Australia
Founder	Lachlan Macquarie
Defunct	4 May 1982 (1982-05-04)
Fate	Renamed on 4 May 1982^[1]
Successor	Westpac Banking Corporation
Headquarters	Martin Place, Sydney , Australia
Area served	New South Wales

History

 

Former Bank of New South Wales, Broadway, Sydney, designed by Varney Parkes

 

The former Bank of New South Wales building on Russell St, Melbourne

 

Bank of New South Wales branch in Port Douglas, Queensland circa 1890

Established in 1817 in Macquarie Place, Sydney premises leased from Mary Reibey,^[2][3] the Bank of New South Wales (BNSW) was the first bank in Australia. It was established under the economic regime of Governor Lachlan Macquarie (responsible for transitioning the penal settlement of Sydney into a capitalist economy). At the time, the colony of Sydney had not been supplied with currency, instead barter and promissory notes was the payment method of choice. Governor Macquarie himself used cattle and rum as payment for the construction of Sydney Hospital and the road from Sydney to Liverpool. The suggestion of establishing a bank was raised in March 1810; but it wasn't until November 1816 that a meeting was held to discuss the real possibility of such a proposal. In February 1817 seven directors of the bank were elected: D'Arcy Wentworth, John Harris, Robert Jenkins,^[4] Thomas Wylde,^{[nb 1]} Alexander Riley, William Redfern and John Thomas Campbell. Campbell was elected the bank's first president^[5] and Edward Smith Hall as its first cashier and secretary.^[6] During the 19th and early 20th century, the Bank opened branches throughout Australia and New Zealand and in the 20th century in Oceania. This included at Moreton Bay (Brisbane) in 1850, then in Victoria (1851), New Zealand (1861), South Australia (1877), Western Australia (1883), Fiji (1901), Papua (now part of Papua New Guinea) (1910) and Tasmania (1910).

Besides expanding its branch network, the bank also expanded by acquiring other banks:

• 1927: BNSW acquires the Western Australian Bank, which had been established in 1841 or 1842.^[7]
• 1931: BNSW acquires the Australian Bank of Commerce, which had branches in both New South Wales and Queensland.^[8]
• 1942: BNSW suspends operations in Papua after the Japanese Army captured many of the towns in which it had branches and agencies, and bombed Port Moresby. It resumed operations in 1946.
• 1946: BNSW resumes operations in Papua.
• 1957: BNSW buys 40% of finance company Australian Guarantee Corporation and over the years progressively increased its interest to a majority stake of 76% and then acquired all remaining shares in 1988.
• 1968: BNSW joins Databank Systems Limited consortium in New Zealand to provide joint data processing services. Around this time the bank started going 'on line' with the use of their computer nicknamed "Fabicus", the letters standing for "First Australian Banking Institution Computer Used in Sydney". Fabicus had been in use since 1958 in the processing of some records. With advanced programming, The use of this computer changed the whole concept of banking as it had been done in years previously with its combination of hand-written and machined records. Branches slowly became attached to the data processing centre and other banks slowly joined the ranks of computer-generated reports, records, and expansion.
• 1970: BNSW establishes a branch on Tarawa in Kiribati, which also took over the government savings bank. BNSW also gets listed on the Australian Securities Exchange on 18 July 1970.
• 1973: BNSW becomes the corporate sponsor of the Rescue Helicopter service started by Surf Life Saving Australia. The service is known today as the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service
• 1974: BNSW participates in a joint venture to establish the Bank of Tonga.
• 1975: BNSW incorporates its local business in Papua New Guinea as Bank of New South Wales (PNG).
• 1977: BNSW forms the Pacific Commercial Bank in Samoa as a joint venture with the Bank of Hawaii, buying into Pacific Savings and Loan Company, in which the Bank of Hawaii had had an ownership interest since 1971.
• 1982: BNSW acquires the Commercial Bank of Australia.^[9] The Parliament of New South Wales passes the Bank of New South Wales (Change of Name) Act 1982 on 4 May 1982, changing the name of BNSW to the Westpac Banking Corporation.^[1] The new brand incorporates the "W" motif, which had been the logo of BNSW.

Executive leadership

Chief executive

• Alfred Davidson – General manager (1929–1945)^[10]
• Robert Norman – General manager (1964–1977)
• Bob White – Chief general manager (1977–1982)^[11]

President/Chairman

(Note: In 200:The Westpac Story on page 296 there is a chronological list of presidents of the Bank of New South Wales 1817-1982 followed by a list of chairmen of Westpac Banking Corporation 1982–2017.)

Ordinal	Name	Title	Term start	Term end	Time in office	Notes
1	John Thomas Campbell	President	1817	1821	3–4 years	^[12]
2	John Piper		1822	January 1827 (1827-01)	4–5 years	^[13]
3	John Holden		1851	1852	0–1 years	^[14]
4	Daniel Cooper		1855	1861	5–6 years	^[15]
5	Robert Tooth		1862	1863	0–1 years	^[16]
6	Robert Towns		1866	1867	0–1 years	^[17]
7	Frederick Tooth		1868	1869	0–1 years	^[18]
8	Thomas Walker		1869	1886	16–17 years	^[19]^[20]
9	Thomas Buckland		1886	1894	7–8 years	^[21]^[22]^[23]
10	James Richard Hill		1894	1898	3–4 years	^[24]^[25]
11	James Walker		1898	1901	0–1 years	^[26]^[27]
12	Charles Mackellar		1901	1922	20–21 years	^[28]
13	Thomas Buckland		1922	1937	14–15 years	^[29]^[30]
14	Robert Gillespie		1937	1945	7–8 years	^[31]
15	Frederick Tout		1945	1950	4–5 years	^[32]
16	Martin McIlrath		1950	1952	1–2 years	^[33]^[34]
17	Colin Sinclair		1952	1954	1–2 years	^[35]^[36]
18	Leslie Morshead		1954	1959	4–5 years	^[37]
19	John Cadwallader		1959	1978	18–19 years	^[38]^[39]
20	Noel Foley	Chairman	1978	1982	3–4 years	^[40]

Coat of arms

In 1931 the bank was granted a coat of arms from the College of Arms, symbolising the 1927 acquisition of the Western Australian Bank. The arms featured an emu and a black swan (which is symbolic of Western Australia) rampant supporting a shield surmounted by a kangaroo and the emblem of the rising sun. On the shield are shown a ship, two sheaves of wheat, a sheep, a cow, and a crossed pick and spade, representing the principal industries of Australia at the time: pastoral, agricultural, mining and shipping. The motto included was "Sic fortis Etruria crevit", translated as "Thus strong Etruria prospered", a line taken from Virgil's Second Georgic and an early motto of the Colony of New South Wales.^[41]

These arms replaced the original arms known as the "Advance Australia Arms" which was similar to the first Coat of arms of Australia used until 1910, using the same kangaroo and emu supporters and the motto "Advance Australia". The shield in these arms was retained in the 1931 arms.^[42]

Heritage-listed buildings

The Bank of New South Wales built many buildings in Australia, some of which survive and are heritage-listed. However, very few are still used as banks. Surviving buildings with heritage listing include:

New South Wales

• 341 George Street, former Sydney Head Office (1927–1932).^[43]
• 107–109 Bathurst Street, Sydney (1895).^[44]
• 51 Mount Street, North Sydney (1931).^[45]
• 306 Pacific Highway, Crows Nest (1924).^[46]
• 264 Church Street, Parramatta, Sydney (current branch)^[47]

Queensland

• Bank of New South Wales building, Brisbane
• Bank of New South Wales building, Charters Towers
• Bank of New South Wales building, Gympie
• Bank of New South Wales building, Helidon
• Bank of New South Wales building, Maryborough
• Bank of New South Wales building, Normanton (currently operates as a branch of Westpac Bank)
• Bank of New South Wales building, Townsville
• Bank of New South Wales building, Yungaburra

Victoria

• Melbourne Head Office^[48] (building demolished with the façade preserved and relocated within the University of Melbourne, Parkville campus)

Gallery

•  
  Bank of NSW Building (1882), Oamaru, New Zealand
•  
  Bank of NSW, 55 Collins Street, Melbourne
•  
  Bank of NSW North Sydney Branch (1931–1974), 51 Mount Street, North Sydney

See also

•  Companies portal
•  Australia portal
•  Banks portal

• List of oldest companies in Australia
• List of banks in Australia
• List of Bank of New South Wales buildings

References

1. "Bank of New South Wales (Change of Name) Act 1982". NSW Legislation. 20 December 2002. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
2. "Bank of New South Wales". Dictionary of Sydney. 2008. from the original on 25 November 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
3. Bank of New South Wales (1974). Australia's first bank : a brief history (2nd ed.). Bank of New South Wales. ISBN 978-0-909719-14-2.
4. Holder, R. F. Jenkins, Robert (1777–1822). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. from the original on 7 January 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2017. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
5. Holder, Reginald Frank; Bank of New South Wales (1970), Bank of New South Wales : a history, vol. 1 (1817–1893), Angus and Robertson, ISBN 978-0-207-95362-0
6. M. J. B. Kenny. "Hall, Edward Smith (1786–1860)". Biography – Edward Smith Hall – Australian Dictionary of Biography. Adb.online.anu.edu.au. from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
7. "Diay of Events". Western Mail. Vol. XLII, no. 2151. Western Australia. 21 April 1927. p. 32. Retrieved 16 January 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
8. Australian eHeritage Portal: Australian Bank Of Commerce (former) 8 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine
9. "Westpac's name adopted". The Canberra Times. Vol. 56, no. 16, 927. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 31 January 1982. p. 3. Retrieved 23 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
10. Holder, R. F. (1981). Davidson, Sir Alfred Charles (1882–1952). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. from the original on 22 March 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
11. Frost, James (12 June 2017). "Vale Bob White: Banking sector mourns passing of former Westpac CEO". Australian Financial Review. from the original on 30 September 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
12. Holder, R.F. (1966). "Campbell, John Thomas (1770–1830)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
13. Barnard, Marjorie (1967). "Piper, John (1773–1851)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
14. Parsons, Vivienne (1966). Holden, John Rose (1810–1860). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
15. Martin, A. W. Cooper, Sir Daniel (1821–1902). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. from the original on 21 March 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2018. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
16. Walsh, G. P. (1976). Tooth, Robert (1821–1893). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
17. Shineberg, D. (1976). Towns, Robert (1794–1873). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
18. "THIRTY-SIXTH REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS OF THE BANK OF NEW SOUTH WALES". The Goulburn Herald And Chronicle. New South Wales, Australia. 31 October 1868. p. 3. Retrieved 23 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
19. "MR. THOMAS WALKER". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 15, 114. New South Wales, Australia. 3 September 1886. p. 5. Retrieved 23 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
20. "The Late Thomas Walker". Evening News. No. 6019. New South Wales, Australia. 3 September 1886. p. 5. Retrieved 23 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
21. "Bank of New South Wales". Evening News. No. 8406. New South Wales, Australia. 12 May 1894. p. 6. Retrieved 23 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
22. "THE LATE MR. THOMAS BUCKLAND". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 18, 256. New South Wales, Australia. 19 September 1896. p. 7. Retrieved 23 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
23. "PERSONAL". The Daily Telegraph. No. 5382. New South Wales, Australia. 19 September 1896. p. 9. Retrieved 23 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
24. "DEATH OF MR. J. R. HILL". The Daily Telegraph. No. 5989. New South Wales, Australia. 24 August 1898. p. 5. Retrieved 23 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
25. "Death of Mr. J. R. Hill". The Sydney Mail And New South Wales Advertiser. Vol. LXVI, no. 1991. New South Wales, Australia. 3 September 1898. p. 570. Retrieved 23 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
26. "NEW SOUTH WALES". The Brisbane Courier. Vol. LV, no. 12, 698. Queensland, Australia. 22 September 1898. p. 5. Retrieved 23 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
27. "PRESIDENT OF THE BANK OF NEW SOUTH WALES". The Brisbane Courier. Vol. LVIII, no. 13, 564. Queensland, Australia. 3 July 1901. p. 6. Retrieved 23 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
28. "BANK OF NEW SOUTH WALES". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 26, 265. New South Wales, Australia. 11 March 1922. p. 12. Retrieved 23 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
29. Holder, R. F. (1979). Buckland, Sir Thomas (1848–1947). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. from the original on 22 March 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
30. "No. 34166". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 31 May 1935. p. 3593.
31. Amos, Keith (1983). Gillespie, Sir Robert Winton (1865–1945). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. from the original on 22 March 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
32. "Death Of Sir Frederick Tout". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 35, 114. New South Wales, Australia. 6 July 1950. p. 5. Retrieved 22 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
33. Walsh, G. P. (1986). McIlrath, Sir Martin (1874–1952). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2018. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
34. "APPOINTMENTS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 35, 120. New South Wales, Australia. 13 July 1950. p. 6. Retrieved 22 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
35. "New President Of Bank Of NSW". The Dubbo Liberal and Macquarie Advocate. Vol. 41, no. 610. New South Wales, Australia. 31 December 1952. p. 3. Retrieved 17 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
36. "Sir C. Sinclair President Of Bank Of N.S.W." The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 35, 891. New South Wales, Australia. 2 January 1953. p. 2. Retrieved 17 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
37. "Bank Job for Morshead". Barrier Miner. Vol. LXVII, no. 20, 050. New South Wales, Australia. 27 November 1954. p. 12. Retrieved 17 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
38. "BANK'S NEW PRESIDENT". The Biz. New South Wales, Australia. 14 October 1959. p. 8. Retrieved 22 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
39. "President of bank re-elected". The Canberra Times. Vol. 51, no. 14, 596. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 29 January 1977. p. 1. Retrieved 22 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
40. "Bank of NSW, CBA to merge". The Canberra Times. Vol. 55, no. 16, 667. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 15 May 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 22 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
41. "A BANK'S NEW EMBLEM". The West Australian. Vol. XLVII, no. 9075. Western Australia. 27 July 1931. p. 12. Retrieved 23 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
42. "Bank of NSW – Advance Australia Arms on a Bank of NSW building". Office of Environment and Heritage. NSW Government. from the original on 15 June 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
43. "Westpac Bank, 341 George Street, Sydney". NSW State Heritage Register. NSW Office of Environment and Heritage. 12 September 2008. from the original on 26 February 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
44. "Bank of NSW, 107–109 Bathurst Street, Sydney". NSW State Heritage Register. NSW Office of Environment and Heritage. 11 July 2008. from the original on 26 February 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
45. "Former Bank of NSW". NSW State Heritage Inventory. NSW Office of Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
46. "Bank". NSW State Heritage Register. NSW Office of Environment and Heritage. 18 March 2011. from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
47. "Westpac Bank". Parramatta Heritage Register. from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
48. "Bank of New South Wales, 368–374 Collins Street, Melbourne". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 25 February 2017.

Footnotes

1. Thomas Wylde / Wilde retired founder of London's solicitors Wilde Sapte

 

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