Browse Entities

Commonwealth Bank of Australia [I] (1912 - 1960)

From
1912
To
1960
Functions
Finance and Insurance

Summary

Established under the Fisher government's Commonwealth Bank Act 1911, the bank commenced operations in 1912.

During the 1920s and 1930s the bank's functions included those of a central bank. This was increasingly so during the 1940s and 1950s. In 1959 the Menzies's government enacted the Commonwealth Bank Act 1959 and the Reserve Bank Act 1959. These acts formally separated the central banking function from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and came into effect in 1960.

The central bank functions transferred to the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia's name was changed to the Commonwealth Banking Corporation.

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Timeline

 1856 - 1865 Moreton Bay Savings Bank
 1861 - 1866 Ipswich Savings Bank
 1862 - 1867 Toowoomba Savings Bank
 1863 - 1908 Post Office Savings Bank of Western Australia
       1863 - 1926 Government Savings Bank of Western Australia
       1865 - 1916 Government Savings Bank of Queensland
       1882 - 1901 Post Office Savings Bank of Tasmania
             1901 - 1913 State Savings Bank of Tasmania
             1907 - 1931 Government Savings Bank of New South Wales
             1916 - 1920 Queensland Government Savings Bank
             1926 - 1931 State Savings Bank of Western Australia
                   1912 - 1960 Commonwealth Bank of Australia [I]
                         1960 - Reserve Bank of Australia
                         1960 - 1984 Commonwealth Banking Corporation
                               1984 - Commonwealth Bank of Australia [II]

Archival resources

Reserve Bank of Australia Archives

  • Reserve Bank of Australia records; Reserve Bank of Australia Archives. Details

Published resources

Books

  • Commonwealth Bank of Australia. A short history of its progress. Reprinted from Sydney "Daily Telegraph" 20 February 1922., Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Sydney, 1922. Details
  • Commonwealth Bank of Australia in the Second World War, Sands, Sydney, 1947, 33 pp. Details
  • Amos, D.J., The story of the Commonwealth Bank, 1931, 40 pp. Details
  • Amos, D.J., The story of the Commonwealth Bank, E.J. McAlister & Co, Adelaide, 1943. Details
  • Faulkner, C.C., The Commonwealth Bank of Australia: a brief history of its establishment development and service to the people of Australia and the British Empire under Sir Denison Miller Governor, June 1st, 1912 - June 6th, 1923, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Sydney, 1923, 367 pp. Details
  • Giblin, L.F., The growth of a Central Bank: the development of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, 1924-1945, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, Victoria, 1951, 363 pp. Details
  • Gollan, R.A., The Commonwealth Bank of Australia: origins and early history, ANU Press, Canberra, ACT, 1968, 175 pp. Details
  • Jauncey, L.C., Australia's government bank, Cranley & Day, London, 1933, 288 pp. Details
  • McConnell, W.K., The origin and development of the Commonwealth Bank, Sydney, 1945, 35 pp. Details
  • Phillips, Bronwyn and Hock, Peter, 100 Years Together, Focus Publishing Pty Ltd, North Sydney, New South Wales, 2011, 233 pp. Details

Online Resources

Bruce A. Smith

Created: 1 December 1999, Last modified: 14 August 2020