The Ballarat Banking Company was a long-lasting regional bank based in the city of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, operating from 1865 to 1955.
It commenced operation in June 1865, having occupied the former Ballarat premises of the Oriental Bank Corporation.[1][2] It was one of the banks to suspend payments in the 1892-93 banking crisis, closing in March 1892 but reopening in June 1892 after negotiations with creditors.[3][4] [5] Hugh Dean Thomas Williamson gained his first banking job with the bank c. 1917.[6]
It "confined its activities to the Ballarat district", but "[flourished] in its original form" for nearly a century.[7] In 1934, it had branches in Ballarat and three adjoining towns.[8]
It was acquired by the National Bank of Australasia in 1955 for £375,000.[9][10] It held deposits of £712,000 and advances of £439,000 at the time.[11] At its closure it was the last remaining unit bank and provincial bank in Australia.[12] Its closure reduced the amount of independent private trading banks in Australia to six.[13]
References edit
- ^ "COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENGE". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 5, 927. Victoria, Australia. 5 June 1865. p. 4. Retrieved 12 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "NEWS AND NOTES". The Ballarat Star. Vol. X, no. 126. Victoria, Australia. 29 May 1865. p. 2. Retrieved 12 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "INTERCOLONIAL". The Brisbane Courier. Vol. XLVIII, no. 10, 672. Queensland, Australia. 29 March 1892. p. 5. Retrieved 12 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "TOWN NEWS". The Australasian. Vol. LII, no. 1357. Victoria, Australia. 2 April 1892. p. 23. Retrieved 12 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "The Traralgon Record". Traralgon Record. No. 741. Victoria, Australia. 10 June 1892. p. 2 (morning). Retrieved 12 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Hugh Dean Thomas Williamson CBE 1901-1985". University of Melbourne. 14 November 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ "The Story of Banking in Victoria". The Age. No. 31, 031. Victoria, Australia. 16 October 1954. p. 45 (SUPPLEMENT IN "THE AGE"). Retrieved 12 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "The Adelaide Bowling Carnival". The Manning River Times and Advocate for the Northern Coast Districts of New South Wales. Vol. 65, no. 8323. New South Wales, Australia. 31 March 1934. p. 8. Retrieved 12 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "CASH OFFER BY NATIONAL BANK". Kalgoorlie Miner. Vol. 60, no. 16990. Western Australia. 24 December 1954. p. 8. Retrieved 12 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "National Bank confirms offer". The Argus (Melbourne). Victoria, Australia. 5 January 1955. p. 12. Retrieved 12 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Market highlights". News. Vol. 63, no. 9, 782. South Australia. 17 December 1954. p. 10. Retrieved 12 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Interesting Talk On Banks In Australia". Border Morning Mail. Vol. XLI, no. 12492. New South Wales, Australia. 28 August 1945. p. 6. Retrieved 12 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "NATIONAL BANK OFFER TO BUY BALLARAT BANK". The Argus (Melbourne). Victoria, Australia. 17 December 1954. p. 12. Retrieved 12 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.