Browse Entities

Bank of New South Wales (1817 - 1982)

From
1817
Sydney, New South Wales
To
1982
Functions
Finance and Insurance

Summary

The company was established in 1816, commenced business in 1817 and was subsequently incorporated under the "Bank of New South Wales Act 1850" of the New South Wales Parliament. In 1982 it with merged with The Commercial Bank of Australia Ltd to form the Westpac Banking Corporation.

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Details

The bank was established in 1817 and incorporated in 1850 by the New South Wales Act. In 1927 the Western Australian Bank was purchased, and on November 27, 1931, the Australian Bank of Commerce was purchased. In 1955, the company entered the savings bank field with the formation of its own subsidiary. A 40 % interest was obtained in Australian Guarantee Corp in July 1957, which was increased to 100% in 1988.

In July 1958, the Wales Unit Investment Ltd was formed and its first trust opened on November 3, 1958.

In 1981 the bank had approximately 1,349 branches throughout Australia and the world including New Zealand, London, New York, Fiji, P.N.G, and Singapore. The Bank's name was changed to the Westpac Banking Corporation in 1982 following a merger with the Commercial Bank of Australia Ltd.

Timeline

 1852 - 1910 The Australian Joint Stock Bank Limited
 1863 - 1918 The City Bank of Sydney
       1841 - 1927 Western Australian Bank
       1910 - 1931 The Australian Bank of Commerce Limited
             1817 - 1982 Bank of New South Wales
                   1982 - Westpac Banking Corporation

Archival resources

J.S. Battye Library of West Australian History, State Library of Western Australia

  • Bank of New South Wales / Western Australian Bank records, 1841 - 1947, MN 12; J.S. Battye Library of West Australian History, State Library of Western Australia. Details
  • Bank of New South Wales records, 1928, MN 2130; J.S. Battye Library of West Australian History, State Library of Western Australia. Details

Rare Books and Special Collections, The University of Sydney Library, (previously Fisher Library, Rare Books and Special Collections)

  • Bank of New South Wales records, 1903 - 1915; Rare Books and Special Collections, The University of Sydney Library, (previously Fisher Library, Rare Books and Special Collections). Details

Westpac Group Archives, (formerly Westpac Historical Services)

  • Bank of New South Wales records, 1817 - 1983; Westpac Group Archives, (formerly Westpac Historical Services). Details
  • Bank of New South Wales records, 1816 - 1982; Westpac Group Archives, (formerly Westpac Historical Services). Details

Published resources

Books

  • Photographs of the premises (past and present) occupied by branches of the Bank of New South Wales: with a short sketch of the progress of the bank from its commencement in 1817 to 1907, 1907, 301 pp. Details
  • Pioneering New Zealand: the story of the Bank of New South Wales in New Zealand, Wellington, New South Wales, 1939, 31 pp. Details
  • 200. The Westpac Story, Westpac Banking Corporation, Sydney, New South Wales, 2017, 301 pp. Details
  • Butlin, S.J., Queensland's first bank, Bank of New South Wales, Glebe, New South Wales, 1950, 16 pp. Details
  • Butlin, S.J., A century of banking in Victoria 1851-1951, Bank of New South Wales, Sydney, 1951, 28 pp. Details
  • Butlin, S.J., The Bank of New South Wales in London 1853-1953, Bank of New South Wales, Sydney, 1953, 20 pp. Details
  • Davidson, L. Sharon and Salsbury, Stephen, Australia's first bank: fifty years from the Wales to Westpac, UNSW Press, Sydney, New South Wales, 2005, 407 pp. Details
  • Davidson, Sir Alfred, The founding of the first bank, Sydney, 1940, 8 pp. Details
  • Davidson, Sir Alfred, Early years of the first bank, Sydney, 1940, 8 pp. Details
  • Davidson, Sir Alfred, The first bank grows up, Sydney, 1941, 10 pp. Details
  • Holder, R.F., Bank of New South Wales: a history 1894-1970, vol. 2 of 2, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1970. Details
  • Holder, R.F., Bank of New South Wales: a history 1817-1893, vol. 1 of 2, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1970. Details
  • Sinclair, K., Open account: a history of the Bank of New South Wales in New Zealand 1861-1961, Whitcombe & Tombs, Wellington, New South Wales, 1961, 266 pp. Details

Book Sections

  • Gilbert, R.S., 'Donald Larnarch', in Appleyard, R.T. and Schedvin, C.B. (eds), Australian Financiers. Biographical Essays, Macmillan Company of Australia, South Melbourne, Victoria, 1988, pp. 70-87. Details

Journal Articles

  • Johns, Leanne and Ville, Simon, 'Banking Records, Business and Networks in Colonial Sydney, 1817-24', Australian Ecomonic History Review, vol. 52, no. 2, 2012, pp. 167-190. Details

See also

  • Cannon, Michael, The Land Boomers. The complete illustrated history, Lloyd O'Neil Pty Ltd, South Yarra, Victoria, 1986, 409 pp. Details

Bruce A. Smith

Created: 1 December 1999, Last modified: 14 October 2010