Australia and New Zealand Bank: The Bank of Australasia and the Union Bank of Australia Limited: 1928-1951

Australia and New Zealand Bank Limited was created in 195 I· by the merging of the Bank of Australasia and the Union Bank of Australia. Both were incorporated in and mainly capitalized from Britain, and their head offices were in London. The former began business in 1835, and in its early years absorbed two small banks: the Cornwall Bank in Launceston, and the Bank of Western Australia in Perth. The latter commenced in 1837, absorbing both the Tamar Bank and Archers Gilles & Company in Launceston, the Bathurst Bank (New South Wales) and the Bank of South Australia, itself a 'British' bank, and the first bank in South Australia. This book is an account of the history of eight banks which Australia and New Zealand Bank counts as its ancestors. It is not meant, at least not primarily, for specialists in history or economics, but for a wider audience. The materials used are vast, scattered, and extremely diverse, mostly in manuscript, and largely not available for public reference. To have documented the work with a wealth of footnotes might have satisfied a scholar's conscience, but for the general reader would have interposed an unnecessary and discouraging barrier, while the professional historian or economist would have been frustrated and irritated by voluminous references to source material which could not be consulted. Footnotes have therefore been ruthlessly excluded, references to quotations being woven into the text. Source material comprises the great wealth of the Bank's own records, divided between London, Australia and New Zealand; material in the Public Record Office in London, and the official archives of New Zealand and every Australian State; newspapers, books, parliamentary papers, and other material. No one person could personally read through everything to locate and extract what is relevant, and I have necessarily depended upon various forms of assistance. I have visited every depository in which relevant records exist, and handled every class of material involved, so that I could work from other people's extracts with understanding of the source. A great deal of it I have explored personally, but much of it has come to me in the form of verbatim extracts located for me by a number of people working to precise and detailed instructions. I have been well served by these assistants without whose dredging and drudging the task would have been impossible. Mr W. J. McCarty, now of the University of New South Wales, did invaluable pioneer work in the original searching for and assembling of the Bank's records. He was succeeded by E. C. Oakley who, after retirement as an Inspector of the Bank, displayed an unsuspected flair for historical research from which he derived enormous enjoyment, terminated unhappily by his death. Mr H. K. Hall, another retired officer, took over the care of the Bank's archives and, to his workmanlike help as my chief assistant in Melbourne, added special contributions by reason of his skill as a photographer. Several of the illustrations are his work. In New Zealand Mr G. M. Miller, of the University of Canterbury, has done a vast amount of delving in the New Zealand records, mainly of the Union Bank. Mr J. D.S. MacLeod, then economist to the New Zealand Division, smoothed the way for my own work in New Zealand, whilst Mr J. N. D. Paine made work in Lon.don extremely pleasant as well as profitable. Many other bank officers in all three countries have helped me in a multitude of ways. Most of all I am indebted to Mr D. H. Merry, the Bank's Chief Economist, who originally persuaded me to undertake the work, and in the midst of an extremely busy life has always been available to discuss the work as it progressed. To staffs of libraries and Archives of all Australian States and of New Zealand, and of the Public Record Office, in London and at Berkhamsted, I owe a great deal, especially to Miss M. Lukis of the J. S. Battye Library, Perth, who has met promptly and efficiently my many requests by correspondence. Finally Miss J. D. Fisher worked with me throughout, especially in assembly of statistical material which provides authority for many statements in tracking down and authenticating many of the illustrations, in preparing the typescript for the printer, in reading proofs, and making the index. University of Sydney 1 May 1960 S. J Butli

Foundations of the Australian monetary system 1788-1851

xvi, 727 p.; 22 cm

Incorporation and Company Formation in Australasia, 1790–1860

Nearly 260 companies were founded in and for the Australasian colonies between 1790 and 1860. A quantitative survey suggests that the patterns of incorporation mainly reflected ‘functionalist’ economic factors rather than ‘autonomous’ legal conditions, though the changing nature of company law did influence the various forms that incorporation took. In some sectors, outside factors and even historical accidents also pushed patterns of incorporation along distinct lines. The result was a tradition of adapting legal powers of incorporation to local needs which persisted beyond the introduction of modern company acts to the region in the 1860s and therefore shaped the subsequent evolution of the company in Australia and New Zealand

Australian economic growth in historical perspective

This article reviews recent contributions to the evidence on, and interpretations of, the long-run growth of the Australian economy. It is noted that several themes currently prominent in growth theory and empirical growth analysis are reflected in the recent literature on the Australian historical experience. * The helpful comments of Peter Kenyon, Richard Pomfret, and three referees are gratefully acknowledged. Choon Wang contributed excellent research assistance