BATHURST IN THE 1830's

by an anonymous widow
From the Bathurst Times, 14 December 1901

THE FIRST BANK IN BATHURST

No sooner was Bathurst laid out, and allotments sold and building commenced, than the need of a bank made itself felt; and, with that splendid spirit of enterprise and self-help which has ever characterised the City of the Plains, the inhabitants determined to have a bank of their own. The project was greatly assisted by, and, indeed, could not have been carried out without, the help of the late Mr. A. K. Mackenzie, of Dochairne, who had been a banker in England. The commissariat having been removed to Sydney, the building used as a store was secured for the bank premises, and the old iron chest, which had done service for many a day for Government money was the first "strong room". a provisional board of directors started operations, shares were readily taken up, and in no time the Bank of Bathurst was in full swing, and the notes--of one, five and ten pounds--were in general circulation. Even those who were dubious of the result of the experiment did what they could to help such a useful institution; and a gallant officer, of exalted rank in the Imperial army, who resided in the district, in handing a large cheque to one of the directors, intimated that he knew he would never see it again, and wished to make a gift of it at once to the bank. "You will burn your fingers", he concluded; "this is all the extent to which I will burn mine". He, however, had cause to change his opinion, and found the bank not only a temporarily useful, but a profitable, institution. Among the first directors of the bank were Mr. Mackenzie and Dr. Busby; and Mr. T. M. Sloman was one of the earliest officers. At first specie was brought from Sydney in strange ways; and consignments of "table salt", "millinery", and casks of "corn", carried at their heart parcels of gold, silver, and notes. The bank prospered and paid splendid dividends. At length the Union Bank sent up an agent, who bought over the business of the Bathurst bank, at a sum which gave the shareholders their money back with interest almost cent per cent. Mr. Lee (of Claremont), one of the directors of the old bank, built the house (which still stands at the corner of Howick and William streets, and is known as "The Duke's Corner") for the new bank, and the "Union" opened its first branch in the west with the late Mr. David Kennedy as manager. Later on it opened a branch at Orange, and, when the Bathurst business was sold to the Commercial Banking Co., Mr. John Busby, who had been trained in the Union Bank, was brought from Orange (where he was in charge of the branch), and managed the Commercial Bank in Bathurst till his death. When the Union Bank took over the business of the Bathurst Bank it paid all the notes of the old bank as they came in, for a time, and then put up those that remained to auction. An enterprising citizen secured them, getting a good price from the bank; but he had cause to regret his bargain, for, for years, £1, £5, and £10 notes dribbled in upon him, and several years after he thought all must be paid, a belated £10 note reached him. He demurred at making a payment as so long a time had elapsed, but, finding that no time limit had been set, he reluctantly paid over his, ten sovereigns for the grimy piece of paper, and for many a day was haunted by the dread of other such unwelcome visitors. The Bathurst Bank just sold out in time to save itself, for the drought followed, and was of such a character that no local financial institution could have borne the strain. The Union Bank, on the other hand, with large resources elsewhere, and local advisers, had no difficulty in getting through that trying time. The story of the scarcity then must now be told.