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 as The Wales, was the first bank in Australia. It was established in 1817 in Sydney. During the 19th century, the bank opened branches throughout Australia and New Zealand, expanding into Oceania in the 20th century. Throughout it history it merged with and purchased many other financial institutions. In 1981 it merged with the Commercial Bank of Australia and was renamed Westpac on 4 May 1982.

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	Merged with Commercial Bank of Australia
Successor	Westpac
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 Street, 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,^[1][2] 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,^[3] Thomas Wylde,^{[nb 1]} Alexander Riley, William Redfern and John Thomas Campbell. Campbell was elected the bank's first president^[4] and Edward Smith Hall as its first cashier and secretary.^[5] 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 acquired the Western Australian Bank, which had been established in 1841 or 1842.^[6]
• 1931: BNSW acquired the Australian Bank of Commerce, which had branches in both New South Wales and Queensland.^[7]
• 1942: BNSW suspended 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 resumed operations in Papua.
• 1957: BNSW purchased a 40% shareholding in 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 joined Databank Systems 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 established a branch on Tarawa in Kiribati, which also took over the government savings bank. BNSW was publicly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange on 18 July 1970.
• 1973: BNSW became 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 participated in a joint venture to establish the Bank of Tonga.
• 1975: BNSW incorporated its local business in Papua New Guinea as Bank of New South Wales (PNG).
• 1977: BNSW formed 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.
• 1981: BNSW merged with the Commercial Bank of Australia.^[8][9][10] The Parliament of New South Wales passed the Bank of New South Wales (Change of Name) Act 1982 on 4 May 1982, changing the name of BNSW to Westpac.^[11][12] The new brand incorporates the "W" motif, which had been the logo of BNSW.

Executive leadership

Chief executive

• Alfred Davidson – General manager (1929–1945)^[13]
• Robert Norman – General manager (1964–1977)
• Bob White – Chief general manager (1977–1982)^[14]

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	[15]
2	John Piper		1822	January 1827 (1827-01)	4–5 years	[16]
3	John Holden		1851	1852	0–1 years	[17]
4	Daniel Cooper		1855	1861	5–6 years	[18]
5	Robert Tooth		1862	1863	0–1 years	[19]
6	Robert Towns		1866	1867	0–1 years	[20]
7	Frederick Tooth		1868	1869	0–1 years	[21]
8	Thomas Walker		1869	1886	16–17 years	[22][23]
9	Thomas Buckland		1886	1894	7–8 years	[24][25][26]
10	James Richard Hill		1894	1898	3–4 years	[27][28]
11	James Walker		1898	1901	0–1 years	[29][30]
12	Charles Mackellar		1901	1922	20–21 years	[31]
13	Thomas Buckland		1922	1937	14–15 years	[32][33]
14	Robert Gillespie		1937	1945	7–8 years	[34]
15	Frederick Tout		1945	1950	4–5 years	[35]
16	Martin McIlrath		1950	1952	1–2 years	[36][37]
17	Colin Sinclair		1952	1954	1–2 years	[38][39]
18	Leslie Morshead		1954	1959	4–5 years	[40]
19	John Cadwallader		1959	1978	18–19 years	[41][42]
20	Noel Foley	Chairman	1978	1982	3–4 years	[43]

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.^[44]

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.^[45]

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).^[46]
• 107–109 Bathurst Street, Sydney (1895).^[47]
• 51 Mount Street, North Sydney (1931).^[48]
• 306 Pacific Highway, Crows Nest (1924).^[49]
• 264 Church Street, Parramatta, Sydney (current branch)^[50]
• 18 King Street, Sydney (1912)^[51]

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^[52] (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

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2. 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.
3. Holder, R. F. (1967). "Robert Jenkins (1777–1822)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 2. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Archived from the original on 7 January 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
4. 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
5. M. J. B. Kenny. "Hall, Edward Smith (1786–1860)". Biography – Edward Smith Hall – Australian Dictionary of Biography. Adb.online.anu.edu.au. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
6. "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.
7. Australian eHeritage Portal: Australian Bank Of Commerce (former) Archived 8 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine
8. Bank of NSW, CBA to merge Canberra Times 15 May 1981 page 1
9. Vote for merger overwhelming Canberra Times 22 August 1981 page 20
10. Changes in Bank Participants Since 1980 Reserve Bank of Australia
11. "Bank of New South Wales (Change of Name) Act 1982". NSW Legislation. 20 December 2002. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
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14. Frost, James (12 June 2017). "Vale Bob White: Banking sector mourns passing of former Westpac CEO". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 30 September 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
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21. "THIRTY-SIXTH REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS OF THE BANK OF NEW SOUTH WALES". Goulburn Herald & Chronicle. Goulburn, Australia. 31 October 1868. p. 3. Retrieved 23 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
22. "MR. THOMAS WALKER". Sydney Morning Herald. No. 15, 114. New South Wales, Australia. 3 September 1886. p. 5. Retrieved 23 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
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Footnotes

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