Home » Shop » 1889 Union Bank Cheque – Ballarat Victoria

1889 Union Bank Cheque – Ballarat Victoria

$55.00 AUD

Availability: 1 in stock

SKU: BCBALLARAT1889-1B Category:
Compare

This is a unique cheque from a bank which no longer exists.

At over 120 years old it is a lovely piece of Australian history and is in a good condition for its age.

The cheque has a small piece missing on the left hand edge.

It is a postdated cheque from 14th December 1989 promising to pay the sum of 31 pounds sterling in the following year on 17th February.

Ballarat was reknowned for its vast riches during the goldrush of the 1850’s and 60’s.

This cheque represents a unique piece of that historical era and as such is highly collectible and desirable for all collectors.

SKU

Design

Central banking came much later in Australia than in those more advanced industrial economies and its initial purposes were very different from those that shaped the character of the older central banks. Here, no bank had naturally evolved as a central bank able to provide a stabilising role. Commercial banks, known colloquially as trading banks, competed rather than cooperated in the nineteenth century. No bank acquired a strength or specialisation of function that would set it apart from the rest. Governments shared their banking business amongst all the banks, and banks issued their own bank notes. The fragility of the system without a central bank was shown in stark relief in the 1890s, when nearly all the land banks and building societies, and 12 of the 22 trading banks shut their doors after the collapse of an intense property boom. Depositors lost confidence in the safety of all banks, strong and weak alike, and rushed to withdraw their gold. There was no institution of any stature able to step in and support those banks whose business was sound. There were bank collapses in almost every decade of the 19th century. The climax came in 1893 after the failure of fraudulent land banks in Victoria triggered a wholesale run on banks. In the space of six weeks, 12 banks closed their doors. Those banks accounted for two-thirds of the total banking assets in Australia.*

History

A Time In Australian History When:

Premier of New South Wales – Henry Parkes (until 16 January), then George Dibbs (until 7 March), then Henry Parkes again.1 February

Foster’s Lager, brewed by the Foster brothers, goes on sale for the first time.27 November

The Sydney Town Hall is officially opened.

*All additional history taken from Wikipedia for educational purposes only.

You may also like…

Shopping Cart
X