  
| | 
Beckom
Cnr Ariah & Keakin Sts | 
1951
1956
1999
2006
| Beckom is 9Km East of Ardlethan
1911 branch opened 31 October by R.E.Inglis, then manager at Temora. The first bank clerk was Mr N.P.Dennis and he worked from Harrison's House.
Opened first at Harrison's Accommodation House, Ariah Street.
1916 December a site on corner of Ariah & Deakin Streets purchased at a cost of 250 pounds.
1924 June premises completed at a cost of 4,400 pounds.1927 Inspector's Report: Beckom
R.A.R. Barton, Manager. Capable and energetic. Gets about in his car. Good presence and manner.
C.E. Lamborn, Accountant. Good manner and appearance, Above present average, Neat Ledger Keeper, but not a good penman.
Work light. Township is quiet.
Office clean and tidy.
1934 Manager R T (Bob) Bryen (Century of Banking Pg 80) was later Manager Walcha and retired as Manager Tamworth.
1937 12 April Ardlethan Receiving Office conducted from Beckom.
1951 photo by Lindsay Huxley
1956/57 Courtesy of John Munro
1968 Present address cnr. Ariah & Keakin Streets, Beckom
1970s when John Beer was auditing Beckom new owner of food store complained of Beckom becoming a forgotten town with trains now not even bothering to blow their horn as they fly past Beckom Railway Station. He said he bought the store out of an advertisement and sounded good (within CBD adjacent to station, etc.)
1999 photo by David Jobson 2006 photo by Charles Bastany
List of Managers:
1911-16 S.J.Lovejoy
1916-19 R.T.Brown
1919-20 F.H.Stivens
1920-21 G.D.Rotton
1921-26 A.T.F.Shaw
1926-28 R.A.R.Barton
1928-30 R.C.Bray
1930-35 R.T.Bryen
1935-40 R.A.Lindsay
1940-47 F.T.Border
1947-53 E.A.Pritchard
1953-56 I.H.Cook
1956-60 R.F.Tarlington
1960-68 H.W.Marsh
1968-70 G.A.Morgan
1970-74 B.J.Bamford
1974-78 J.C.Hayward
1978-80 K.R.Clarke
1980-84 I.G.Ferguson
1984-86 G.C.Simpson
1986- J.A.Ellwood | Bega
21 Auckland Street
now
19 Auckland Street185 Carp Street | 
1887
1985
> 1990
| 1865 built by Nicholas Bouquet for the Bank.
Further along Auckland St is Bega Primary School (1880s-1890s) and the former CBC Bank at the end of the block (1865). According to John Beer, the bank was built on the same block as the school.
1867 Opened (39th Report);
1887 photo from NAB archives.
1893 January Listed in 89th Report;
1934 Listed in Century of Banking.See Current Accounts Jly 1964 p37 for staff photo. 1982 Branch address from Canberra Times ad 21 June
1985 front & side photos from NSW Heritage Office
2000 August NSW Heritage notes re 21 Auckland Street:
A two storey building of simple mid Victorian Colonial design of 3 bays originally having a 2 storey verandah and balcony (now removed). The central entrance door is of 4 panels with fanlight flanked by a large shop window either side containing 6 equal panes of glass surrounding by a deep timber architrave. Symmetrically arranged above a 3 identical pairs of French windows having decorative transoms above.
Construction is of English bond brickwork on coursed rubble bluestone foundation with the upper part of the front façade having tuck pointed Flemish bonded brickwork. Windows are generally 4 paned double hung type while the corrugated iron roof is of a simple hipped form with a small skillion at the rear.
The building was built by Nicholas Bouquet in 1865 for the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney. It is understand to have been the first bank in Bega, the first two storey building, and the third building of substance erected in the town. It occupies a commanding position at the of a bluff on what was once the main road entering the town from the north. The commercial centre of Bega has moved away from this area, and in recent years the building has been used as a residence.
(Branch Manager's Report No. 156/80)
In 1980 the Department of Education requested advice from the Heritage Council concerning the former CBC Bank which is situated within the grounds of Bega Public School.
An Interim Conservation Order was placed over the building 27 September 1985. This order was renewed on 25 September 1987. It was agreed that the order would serve to emphasise the importance of this heritage item to the community of Bega and will ensure its future retention.
In 1987 the care, control and management of the building was transferred to Bega Valley Council.
Through the Heritage Assistance program funding was granted in 1989/1990 for the restoration of the building and reinstatement of the front verandah.
[Historical Significance] Built in 1865 for the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney it is understood to have been the first bank in Bega, the first two storey building, and the third building of substance erected in the town. It serves to mark the extremity of the original town centre, close to the river. The town centre shifted as the shipping trade along the river moved away to the coast and tathra. The building is an important reminder of Bega's early commercial development and its subsequent changes. (Heritage Council Branch Manager's Report 24 June 1980 and 20 June 1985)
[Aesthetic Significance] It occupies a commanding position at the of a bluff on what was once the main road entering the town from the north. It is a simple mid Victorian Colonial style commercial building. (Heritage Council Branch Manager's Report 24 June 1980 and 20 June 1985)
Integrity/Intactness: The former CBC Bank is a substantially intact mid- colonial commercial building.
2007 May NSW Heritage notes re 19 Auckland Street:
Statement of Significance
A substantially intact mid Colonial bank being the earliest such building in Bega and an important reminder of the town’s early commerce and subsequent development.
NSW Heritage notes re 19 Auckland Street:
Building of historical significance to the Bega community for its associations with the early commercial activities of the town by the river, which declined as the shipping trade moved to the coast. It has interest as the first bank and the first two-storey building in the town. Victorian Regency style buildings such as this are rare in the region. The design and the carpentry and joinery of the building demonstrate a High degree of technical achievement.
Date Significance Updated: 29 May 07
Note: There are incomplete details for a number of items listed in NSW. The Heritage Branch intends to develop or upgrade statements of significance and other information for these items as resources become available.
Description
Physical Description: A two-storey building of simple mid Victorian Colonial design of 3 bays originally having a 2-storey verandah and balcony (now removed). The central entrance door is of 4 panels with fanlight flanked by a large shop window either side containing 6 equal panes of glass surrounding by a deep timber architrave. Symmetrically arranged above a 3 identical pairs of French windows having decorative transoms above. Construction is of English bond brickwork on coursed rubble bluestone foundation with the upper part of the front façade having tuck pointed Flemish bonded brickwork. Windows are generally 4 paned double hung type while the corrugated iron roof is of a simple hipped form with a small skillion at the rear. The building occupies a commanding position at the top of the bluff on what was once the main road entering the town from the north. (Heritage Council Branch Manager's Report 24 June 1980 and 20 June 1985)
In recent years the building was used as a residence but since it has been unoccupied the front timber verandah was taken down for safety reasons, otherwise its condition is fair to good. When built it was apparently the first Bank, the first 2 storey building and 3rd substantial building ever erected in Bega. It serves to mark the extremity of the old town close by the river which declined as the shipping trade moved exclusively to the coast. It is presently on the edge of the Bega Primary School grounds.
Historical Notes:
Built in 1865 for the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney it is understood to have been the first bank in Bega, the first two storey building, and the third building of substance erected in the town. It occupies a commanding position at the of a bluff on what was once the main road entering the town from the north. It is a simple mid Victorian Colonial style commercial building. It serves to mark the extremity of the original town centre, close to the river. The town centre shifted as the shipping trade along the river moved away to the coast and Tathra. The building is an important reminder of Bega's early commercial development and its subsequent changes. (Heritage Council Branch Manager's Report 24 June 1980 and 20 June 1985)
The building was built by Nicholas Bouquet in 1865 for the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney. It is understand to have been the first bank in Bega, the first two-storey building, and the third building of substance erected in the town. It occupies a commanding position at the of a bluff on what was once the main road entering the town from the north. The commercial centre of Bega has moved away from this area, and in recent years the building has been used as a residence. (Branch Manager's Report No. 156/80) In 1980 the Department of Education requested advice from the Heritage Council concerning the former CBC Bank which is situated within the grounds of Bega Public School. An Interim Conservation Order was placed over the building 27 September 1985. This order was renewed on 25 September 1987. It was agreed that the order would serve to emphasise the importance of this heritage item to the community of Bega and will ensure its future retention. In 1987 the care, control and management of the building was transferred to Bega Valley Council. Through the Heritage Assistance program funding was granted in 1989/1990 for the restoration of the building and reinstatement of the front verandah.
| | Bellata |  | Bellata is 46Km North of Narrabri and 54Km South of Moree
1934 Listed in Century of Banking
This is all that is left of the old Bellata Branch Premises, photo by John Munro who understands it burnt down and all that remained was the Concrete strongroom - now in the garden of a private residence. An interesting anecdote re Bellata - it was a one handed Branch - Manager/Teller/Ledgerkeeper/Junior all in one. One of the Managers there used to religiously sign the "Surprise Cash Count" certification in the Abstract twice a month. No doubt he would sneak up on himself :-) | | Bellingen Hyde Street | 
1897
1912
1912
 
2008
2022 | Opened 1896 (98th Report);
Geoff Chapman has provided the following information:
Branch opened 19 May 1897 in premises purchased from AJS Bank for $1,642.30. Fernmount branch was closed on 17/5/1897 with the business transferred to the new branch. G B Mosman who had been Manager at Fernmount since 1889 was the first Manager and he remained Manager until 1924, when he was succeeded by A B Cadell
These premises were advertised in the Raleigh Sun for sale (for removal) by auction on 16/9/1912 as the Bank planned the construction of a new building. The old premises were removed to North Bellingen by the building contractor, David Hines, where it became Dalmeny Private Hospital. It is now a private residence
New premises were constructed at a cost of $8,000
Portion of the land was sold in 1938 to The Rural Bank of NSW for $2,000
All of the early records are (were?) held by the bank at Bellingen, and are mostly in a good state of preservation
From article "CBC Bank in Bellinger Valley", published in The Bellinger Courier (date unknown) by the then manager of Bellingen branch, R M (Bob) Hawke
If Bob Hawke's whereabouts are known, he could add more to this information, probably including the addresses of the now two private residences, so that photos could be obtained.
If you know where he is, please let Geoff Chapman know
1934 Listed in Century of Banking
2008 photos by Ron Armstrong
2022 photo by Ray Zinner | 591 Pacific Highway
Belmont
572 Pacific Highway | 
 | 1961 opened January.
B&W photo 20/11/61 by John Beer
2006 Colour photo by John Roberts. Now a Vet clinic.
1974 New CBC branch built around 1974,
photo by Ron Armstrong. | Bemboka
(receiving office of Bega) | | Bemboka is 36Km from Bega on the Bega/Cooma road.
1977 listed in Annual Report | Bermagui
(receiving office of Narooma) | | 1977 listed in Annual Report | Berridale
66 Jindabyne Road
(receiving Office of Cooma) | 
2010 
2018
| Berridale is 35Km from Cooma.
1927 June the CBC opened Berridale as a Receiving Office of Cooma Branch.
1934 Listed in Century of Banking;
1940 listed as Receiving Office of Cooma; August 29 closed.
1950 June CBC re-opened Berridale as a Receiving Office of Cooma Branch
1977 listed in Annual Report
1992 April 16 NAB closed it.
2010 February Geoff Chapman advised: "Google Earth image of Peel Inn at Berridale where an agency was conducted in the lounge on Thursdays between 1.00pm and 3.00pm. Identified by Geoff Budden, a former staff member of Cooma branch."
2018 June Noel Crowley advised: The earliest listing of branches/ Balance Sheet I have, other the “Century of Banking” is as at 30/06/1940 and Berridale is listed as a Receiving Office of Cooma then. From the records it would appear it d8id not operate during the period post 30/06/1940 to pre 30/06/1950 presumably because of the Second World War.
Back in 1958 - I was the Agency Officer between then and May 1959 - it was conducted in the CWA Hall between 10.00am and 3.00pm (with time out for lunch). Now I am not sure when it moved to the “Berridale Inn” – at that time known as the “Peel Inn, as the license was Mrs. Lorna Peel”. You got the bus out in the morning and usually a lift back to Cooma with the Baker in the afternoon on his way to Rotary.
Robin Daley who is researching the Berridale Inn stated: I have been talking to Maree McMillan whose father Bob Farmer owned the hotel from 1959 until the late 1960s and she and her husband confirmed that the receiving office was in the Ladies Lounge of the hotel every Thursday afternoon. So Mr Farmer was at the hotel in the latter part of the time but neither Maree or her husband remember the bank being at the hotel into the 1990s. Perhaps that is when it transferred to the CWA rooms.
Although Noel says he was the Receiving Officer in the 1950s when it was in the CWA rooms!! I’ve opened up a can of worms here. Maree said she remembers John Hughes.
Ken Ryan said: "I worked at Cooma branch from 1963-69.The agency was held in Peel Inn at Berridale and the owner was Mrs Lorna Peel. It was going before my time in Cooma but I did the agency there and Jindabyne once a week."
John Hughes said: "I was the agency officer at Cooma from about April 1962 to approx. November 1963. Every Thursday we ran the agency from Peel's Inn (Owned by Lorna Peel) but run by a Bob Farmer and his family. I used my own car and returned to the Branch by 3.30pm to process the work. We generally took about 20 deposits and gave change to the pub as well as serving a few locals. Our main customer apart from the pub was Snowy River Shire Council. Testing my memory out was the lady from the Council was called Grace Oliver (Or some name like that). I also returned to Cooma branch in March 1972 to April l975 and the Agency was still being conducted every Thursday from hours I think 2 pm to 3 pm. An enjoyable little place which has grown over the years."
Robin Daley added: On May 18, 1959 an earthquake caused widespread but minor damage in the epicentral region around Berridale as far as 40km in the direction of Cooma, and was felt out to a distance of 200km. This earthquake at M5.3 was not much smaller at magnitude of the Newcastle earthquake at M5.6. It caused widespread minor damage as far away as Cooma.* The 1959 Berridale NSW Earthquake Revisited by Kevin McCue, from CQU at an Australian Earthquake Engineering Society in November 2011.
Mr Bob Farmer, the licensee of the Berridale Inn from about 1958 said the tremor had cracked the front wall of the hotel in the lounge room. “The wall was split right across, and up and down. Plaster had fallen all through the hotel. It felt as if a bomb had hit the town.” As far as can be seen, the damage from the earthquake fifty-nine years ago is not visible. Mr Farmer’s daughter Maree McMillan, who lives in Berridale verified that the earthquake did indeed damage the hotel’s loungeroom wall. I’m wondering if the above is the reason some retired bank people say the agency was conducted in the CWA rooms. Maybe (and only a maybe!) the hotel was being repaired at that time so they moved the agency to the CWA.
I’m also wondering if anyone remembers Dan Gowing who was the manager at Quirindi when we lived there. He was a lovely man and his wife Lena was a lovely lady. She taught me how to spin wool as we had sheep on our farm. She was so good at spinning. Dan was also the manager at Cooma in the 1980s.
Noel Crowley then added: I do remember a minor earth tremor “in Cooma” in early 1959, although I do not recall there being damage to the extent referred to in Berridale. If my memory is correct it was in the afternoon and shook crockery etc. in the stores in Cooma did some minor damage. I do have a problem with Bob Farmer being the licensee of the Peel Inn (apparently later the Berridale Inn) for during my time in Cooma/ trips to Berridale once a week Lorna Peel had her name over the door and she was the one who provided me with lunch “at the end of the bar” until I started having it in the kitchen with her mother who had come from Brisbane. I am not sure when the Agency started in the CWA Hall but it was conducted there when I got to Cooma in July 1958 and was still there until I moved on in May 1959. 2018 July Robin Daley sent a page from the Snow Post newspaper July 2018 issue No. 59 page 7, which comprises the three items at left. | Berrigan
| 
 | Berrigan is 81Km East of Deniliquin.
Opened 1890 (84th Report);
1893 January Listed in 89th Report;
1927 Inspector's Report: Berrigan J.W. Nicholas, Manager. A strong personality
Very capable. N.J. Artis, Accountant and Teller. Fair appearance. Nervous. Good manner to customers and obliging. A tryer but lacks initiative.
Writing only fair. A.J. Bulkeley Ledger Keeper. Poor penman. Willing but not a good clerk. Good manner and appearance. Cheerful and obliging. R.B. Cole, Junior, Writing fair. Not a good manner, but can improve. Business active, ample for present personnel, none of whom are Fast. Office clean and tidy. Town making slow progress. A very well farmed district. 1934 Listed in Century of Banking.
Old photo courtesy Kevin Meyer
1956 Photograph by Jim Skinner.
The CBC built a new 2 story building in the main street, which was said to be on an old creek bed and cracked very badly almost from new. Bill Frost 11/2005. NAB agency now on the other side of the street.
Berrigan by Kevin Greenaway in 1960 (opposite ANZ?)
Present day: CBC & ANZ on left; NAB on right side.
2009 August Geoff Chapman advised "The branch building has been demolished and is now the site of a town library, erected in 2008". | Berrima
Wingecarribee Street
12 Jellore Street
|
2008
2008 | Berrima is an important and attractive historic village in a valley by the Wingecarribee River 122 km south-west of Sydney via the F5 Freeway (it is now by-passed) and 650 m above sea-level. It has a 2006 population of 723. The area was once occupied by the Dharawal Aborigines whose language provided the town's name from a word said to mean 'to the south'. They had, in effect, been driven off or killed by the 1870s. The first European party was led by an ex-convict John Wilson in 1798 sent by Governor Hunter to discourage convicts who were heading south in the belief that China was 150 miles away. John Oxley drove some cattle into the area, setting up a station in the Berrima district.Surveyor-General Thomas Mitchell in 1829 was impressed by the water supply, the ease of the river crossing and the availability of building material (particularly stone), he recommended it as a townsite. Robert Hoddle, who later laid out Melbourne, drew up a town plan and it was approved by Governor Bourke.The town was established. Being on a main road the town benefited from the through-traffic. The first two inns were built in 1834. Both buildings still stand and the second, the Surveyor-General Inn, has never lost its license. It is now the longest-licensed hotel in NSW.A bridge over the river was completed in 1836. The population was recorded as 249 in 1841 but had dropped to 192 by 1851. An 1842 newspaper report depicted a primitive village consisting mostly of slab and bark huts. Bushrangers Ben Hall and his gang were active in the area. The railway in the 1860s bypassed Berrima to Moss Vale. This has left the village relatively unchanged since 1890. By 1914 the population was down to 80.
1893 January Listed in 89th Report;
closed 1894 (93rd Report).
Buildings in the Town
Proceed south along the old highway. The next road to the left is Wingecarribee St. On the south-eastern corner is the Old Bakery Tea Rooms, housed in a three-storey building originally used as a bakehouse. The old ovens are still there to be seen and a small collection of historical material. At one time the front section was occupied by the Commercial Bank of Sydney.
Head west along Jellore St. On the right is Village Antiques, a sandstone cottage (1836) which was originally a bakery but later housed the first bank in Berrima (the CBC Bank). Just past it are three old inns. The Victoria Inn is a beautifully restored coaching inn licensed in 1840 and now a restaurant, the Coach & Horse Inn (c.1835) is a two-storey stone cottage now a bed and breakfast, and the old Berrima Inn was the first licensed hotel in town (1834), now a bakery and coffee shop. 2008 Two GoogleEarth photos sourced by Geoff Chapman who says: While I cannot quite read the sign, it appears to read Old Bakery and Tea Rooms. The building is on the S/E corner of Wingecarribee Street as described on Staff Club web site, and would be the building in which CBC operated from the front rooms before moving to premises in Jellore Street.
The second photo is of what is now Village Antiques, the former bakery which was then CBC Berrima branch after moving from front rooms of a building in Wingecarribee Street | Berry
122 Queen Street
|  
1889
1959
1988
 
2002
 
2003
2008
2012
2013
| The name Berry dates back to 1889, the locality being originally known as Broughton Creek from its beginning in 1825 as part of a rural holding called 'Coolangatta'. The township takes its name after Alexander Berry who pioneered settlement in the district and established 'Coolangatta' with his brother-in-law, Edward Wollstonecraft in 1822. Berry started life as a private town on his sprawling county estate. 1885 March 13 branch opened as Broughton Creek.
1889 Building designed by G. Mansfield - plan of stables. Painting of Berry branch after construction.
1890 December 4 Broughton Creek changed its name to Berry
(Current Accounts January 1969 Pg 11 and National Trust on plaque photographed below)
1893 January Listed in 89th Report;
1934 Listed in Century of Banking.
1959 photo by Bill Morelli 1988 became Berry Bunyip Inn.
2002 two photos by Frank Chapman
Heritage Listed:
Designer: G A Mansfield
Construction Years: 1889 - 1889
Physical Description: A two storey former bank building in the Victorian Free Classical style, constructed of rendered brick with a hipped roof and sturdy chimneys. There is a two storey verandah to the front, with skillion roof. The upper verandah features a small central pediment, and decorated Classical columns on pillars, with cast iron railings. Three sets of French windows with fanlights open onto the upper verandah. The lower verandah features a projecting arched portico with scrolled keystone over entrance door; and iron fencing rails between Classical columns on pillars. The lower storey windows are paired and arched; all windows feature heavy mouldings and sill decorations. The interior features cedar joinery. The building is similar to other CBC Bank Buildings designed by the Mansfield Brothers in NSW at this time.
Modifications and Dates: The original slate roof has been replaced with corrugated iron. There is an extension to one side; the building has recently been restored and remodelled as a guest house.
Further Information: Historical Period: 1876-1901
The Commercial Banking Company formerly occupied rented premises in Queen Street. In 1885 the bank paid £1000 for the present corner site, then occupied by English's store. The building was designed by G A Mansfield, and completed in 1889 at a cost of £3200.
The building included a manager's residence and stables. The first manager was P H Morton, a son of Henry Gordon Morton who managed the Numbaa farm for the Coolangatta Estate. In 1922 the bank purchased the adjoining lot for £60, and built a single storey extension in 1957. The building functioned as the Commercial Bank from completion until 1983, when the Commercial Bank merged with the National Banking Company of Sydney to form the National Commercial Banking Corporation of Australia (National Australia Bank). The building continued to serve as a bank until 1988 when it was purchased by Thomas and Arlette Travers who converted the building to a guest house operating under the name of the Bunyip Inn.
NAB in 2003 by Frank Chapman. Photos of Berry ES&A Bank by Frank Chapman are also under Architects - William Wardell.
2008 June photos by John Ness on occasion of NAB Retired Officers Club excursion to Kiama, with Peter Beaumont and Lyn Ness on footpath. Building described as the Bunyip Inn being offered for sale.
2012 now known as the Berry Inn, from South Coast Shoalhaven advertisement. Robert Ness says "Beautiful building, one of the best the Mansfields built. The days of the old CBC were certainly a golden era compared with today." Michael Hook said he has stayed there.
2013 March photo by John Ness of NAB Berry where business was transferred to.
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Last modified: 04 Jun 2023 19:05 |
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