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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Auckland Provincial District]

Banking

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Banking.

All the five banks that do business throughout New Zealand have branches in Auckland, which has also a purely local institution in the Auckland Savings Bank. The Bank of New Zealand, which now has its head office in Wellington, was originally controlled from Auckland, where it still does a larger business than it transacts at any of its other offices. All the bank buildings in Auckland are in Queen Streen, and all, except that of the Savings Bank, are on the west side. First, not far from the foot of Shortland Street, comes the Bank of New Zealand, then the Bank of New South Wales, which is separated from the Bank of Australasia only by the handsome offices of the “New Zealand Herald,” and then the National Bank. The buildings of these four banks are all within a minute's walk of each other, but the Union Bank building is about 150 yards further up, at the corner of Victoria Street. Still higher up stands the Savings Bank, on the opposite, or eastern, side of Queen Street. This is not the place for a dissertation on banking as a business or means of trading in money, but it may be said that banking in New Zealand is much sounder than it was some years ago. Advances on hypothetical or purely speculative values have become things of the past, and the assistance which the country gave to the Bank of New Zealand has enabled that institution to re-organise its business on lines conducive to progress combined with stability. Of banking in the colony generally a good deal is said in the Wellington volume of this work.

Bank Of New South Wales. The Auckland business of this bank is conducted in a handsome stone building of recent construction in Queen Street, near the corner of Wyndham Street. The interior is tastefully fitted-up and decorated, whilst the accommodation for both the staff and the public is good. The management is in the hands of Mr. E. C. Towle.

Mr. William Mccullough, formerly Manager of the Bank of New South Wales at Auckland, was born and educated at Portadown, in the north of Ireland. In 1866 he left the Old World for the New, settling in Queensland. Mr. McCullough joined the Bank of New South Wales at Brisbane in 1873, and ten years later was appointed manager at Maryborough, remaining there till 1886, when he was transferred to Rockhampton. Returning to the capital after three years, Mr. McCullough was assistant manager for about two years, subsequently being appointed an assistant inspector for that Colony. In 1893 he was transferred to Auckland, whence he was promoted to the managership of the Bank of New South Wales at Perth, West Australia.

Mr. John Woodhouse, for many years Manager of the Auckland branch of the Bank of New South Wales, was born at Armagh, Ireland, in 1816, and is son of the late Mr. R. Woodhouse. He went to Sydney at an early age, being a passenger on the same vessel that bore the news of Queen Victoria's ascension of the Throne of England. He entered the service of Messrs. Aspinal and Brown with whom he obtained most of his colonial experience. Mr. Woodhouse subsequently removed to Auckland and founded the business he afterwards carried on under the style of Messrs. Woodhouse and Buchanan (Mr. James Buchanan, of Shortland Street, who still survives, being the junior partner); but failing health obliged Mr. Woodhouse to relinquish business. After a short visit to Sydney he returned to Auckland and removed with his wife and family to Patumahoe where he owned a station. At the outbreak of the Maori war, shortly afterwards, he was compelled to make a hasty flight, leaving his possessions to the mercy of the rebels. Mr Woodhouse never returned to Patumahoe, but immediately entered the service of the Bank of New South Wales in Auckland, and was for many years one of the most popular managers of that institution. Rapidly increasing ill-health, however, compelled his resignation and after a lingering illness he died at his residence in Stephen's Avenue in 1882, leaving a widow (daughter of the late Rev. J. T. Churton, LL.B) and eight children. His eldest son Mr. J. F. Woodhouse, is well known in Dunedin as one of the most rising members of the Bar, and his second son Mr. J. H. Woodhouse is the popular station-master at Woodville, Hawke Bay; his eldest daughter was married to the late Mr. Edward Bennett, barrister of Sydney, who was several times an acting Judge, Mr. Woodhouse always took a keen interest in local affairs and was one of the first to move that Auckland Anniversary Day should be commemorated by a regatta. The third son, Mr. R. Woodhouse is a sharebroker, the fourth son, Mr. W. H. Woodhouse was in the Bank of New Zealand for many years, and the fifth, Mr. E. R. Woodhouse is in British Columbia.

Bank Of Australasia. —The Auckland Branch occupies a prominent site at the corner of Queen and Wyndham Streets. The premises are conveniently arranged, and the management of the Bank's business is in the hands of Mr. Edward Turner.

Mr. Edward Turner, Manager of the Bank of Australasia at Auckland, has had a colonial banking experience extending over a period of thirty-eight years. Born in Somersetshire, England, in 1845, he is the son of the late Mr. Thomas Turner, a well-known banker. Mr. Turner was educated at the Church of England Grammar School, Melbourne, and, on completing his education, entered the service of the Bank of Australasia. His first removal from the head office took place in 1876, when he was appointed accountant at Wellington, and some years later he became manager of the Palmerston North branch. Leaving Palmerston North for Wanganui in 1887, he remained in that beautiful town until 1896, when he was promoted to his present office. As is usual with bankers, Mr. Turner has refrained from participation in civic and colonial politics, but not so with athletics. He has taken an active part in cricket, football, and aquatics, and will be remembered by some of the old Melbourne rowers as having pulled for his page 294 bank in the Banks' Challenge Cup in years gone by. Socially and as a banker, Mr. Turner is very popular, and, though a member of an English banking corporation, looks upon himself as a thorough-going New Zealander. Mr. Turner was married in Palmerston North to the daughter of Mr. James Skerman, and has four sons and two daughters.

Mr. E. Turner.

Mr. E. Turner.

The Union Bank Of Australia. Ltd., Auckland. The Auckland branch of the Union Bank of Australia, Ltd., was opened in 1848, when a very unpretentious building was erected in Princes Street, upon a site nearly opposite the present Museum. The business of the branch was subsequently removed to Shortland Street, and, finally, the present handsome building was erected at the corner of Queen Street and Victoria Street West. The first manager was Mr. Alexander Kennedy, who afterwards joined the service of the Bank of New Zealand about 1860, as its Auckland manager. He was succeeded by Mr. John Simpson, who has been followed by Messrs Pounds, Grierson, Thomson, and the present manager, Mr. W. E. Woodward, who took charge in 1898. The first local directors were Dr. John Logan Campbell and Mr. J. J. Greenwood. Dr. Campbell was offered the appointment on the 11th of October, 1847, by the then acting-inspector of the Bank at Sydney, and retained the position until he resigned on the foundation of the Bank of New Zealand, of which he was one of the first directors.

Mr. W. E. Woodward, the present Manager at Auckland, has been associated with the Bank since 1875, when he entered its service as a junior at Christchurch. In 1876 he was removed to Auckland, where he occupied several positions up to that of teller, and remained for twelve years. He was then promoted in succession to the management of the Bank's branches at Collingwood, near Melbourne, and Hay, in New South Wales. In 1898 he was appointed to his present position. Mr. Woodward is a native of Port Fairy, Victoria, where his father was engaged in pastoral pursuits, and he was educated partly at Warrnambool, in Victoria, and partly at Christchurch, New Zealand.

Bank Of New Zealand. This is probably the most extensive branch bank in the Colony. Though not on a corner section, the fine building occupies one of the choicest sites in the city, within a minute's walk of the post office, and the nearest bank to that department, as well as to all the mining exchanges, and offices of the principal wholesale merchants. The frontage to Queen Street is about ninety-six feet, and the depth about 178 feet. The managerial and other offices are in the front, a handsome corridor leading between them to the public room, which is probably the finest of its kind in New Zealand. An idea of the business conducted at this branch may be gathered from the fact, that no fewer than five tellers are kept continually busy, while not uncommonly their respective counters are througed. The entire staff includes the manager and assistant manager, accountant and assistant accountant, forty clerks, and two messengers. Mr. W. B. Buller is the manager in charge, with jurisdiction over the business of the gold-fields branches.

Mr. William Boyce Buller, the Auckland Manager of the Bank of New Zealand, was appointed to the position in succession to the late Mr. T. L. Murray. Mr. Buller was formerly Senior Inspector of the Bank of New Zealand, and in that capacity he is fully referred to on page 510 of the Wellington volume of this Cyclopedia.

National Bank Of New Zealand, Auckland branch, occupies a prominent position at the corner of Queen and Wyndham Streets. So great has been the extension of the Bank's business within the last few years, that it has been found necessary to increase the accommodation by a valuable addition to the Queen Street frontage of the premises. Mr. D. W. Duthie is the manager in Auckland.

Mr. David Whamond Duthie, Manager at Auckland, of the National Bank of New Zealand, was born at Milton. Otago, in 1857, and is son of the late Mr. Alexander Duthie, one of the earliest settlers who came to Wellington in 1840. Mr. Duthie was educated at the grammar school, Milton, where his father was a successful farmer. He entered the service of the Milton branch of the National Bank, and was soon promoted to the position of accountant at Taieri, since which time he has filled important offices in Dunedin, Oamaru, Timaru, Napier, and Tauranga. He was transferred to Auckland in 1886, and was chief accountant until 1893, when he became manager in succession to Mr. Coates when that gentleman was appointed general manager. Mr. Duthie was married in 1887 to Miss Clayton, daughter of Captain Clayton, nautical assessor, of Auckland, and has four sons and one daughter. Notwithstanding that the popular General Manager left this branch for the head office in Wellington, the National Bank at Auckland has suffered no loss of business under Mr. Duthie's careful management, as is evidenced by the fact that the premises were considerably enlarged quite recently.

The Auckland Savings Bank was established in 1847 to encourage the principles of thrift and industry amongst the people, and has fulfilled its mission so successfully that to-day it is a prosperous and wealthy institution, with branches in several of the suburbs, and is the custodian of considerably more than three-quarters of a million sterling of the savings of the community. Dr. J. Logan Campbell was its first honorary secretary, and the honorary accountants were Messrs J. Dilworth and J. J. Montefiore. In 1850 the Bank was face to face with its page 295 first financial difficulty, and was compelied to appeal to the Governor to authorise a temporary loan not exceeding £300, to enable it to meet withdrawal demands, and again, two years later, the demand of the local Government for the repayment of £46 odd for articles supplied to the Bank could not be complied with for several months. But the new institution found favour with the working classes, to whom it gave the highest current rate of interest, and slowly but surely made progress. In 1872, it was decided to open the bank daily, and this at once led to a great increase in business, the total deposits advancing in five years from £36,230 to £108,870. In 1876, the Penny Bank branch was established, and in 1881 the present handsome building was erected. The bank is managed by a Board of Trustees of prominent citizens, of whom His Excellency the Governor is president; Mr. R. Cameron is manager, and Mr. S. G. Rountree, accountant. In 1847, the year in which the bank was established, it had nineteen depositors, and £176 4s on deposit; but at the close of 1899 the figures were—depositors, 25,095; deposits, £653,599 6s 10d. The surplus profits at the close of 1897 amounted to £47,134. The bank owes much of its success to the shrewd and careful investment of its funds. At the present time, the sum of £218,361 is invested in mortgages, £150,000 in New Zealand Government securities, £8000 odd in borough securities, £70,000 odd on deposit with three banks, while the working account in the Bank of New Zealand represents £134,813 of the bank's funds. Besides giving depositors the highest current rate of interest on their savings, the Auckland Savings Bank has done much to encourage thrift by making advances on mortgage to enable borrowers to build, and in this way has assisted numbers of working men to acquire homes of their own.

Mr. Richard Cameron, Manager of the Auckland Savings Bank, has been a prominent Aucklander for many years. He was born in 1842, and is a son of the late Mr. Richard Cameron, who arrived in Auckland, per “Duchess of Argyle,” in 1842. He was educated at the Rev. John Gorrie's grammar school, and at Nelson College. He made his entry into commercial life as a clerk in the office of Messrs. Gilfillan and Co., general merchants, of Auckland. His connection with the splendid institution of which he is now the popular manager, dates from the 9th March, 1864 when he was appointed a clerk. Eight years later, on the death of Mr. Joseph Coombe, Mr. Cameron succeeded that gentleman, but the office was not dignified with the title of “Manager” until 1875. The business in those days was trifling compared with its present dimensions, but Mr. Cameron has kept pace with the demands made upon his time and ability. The erection of the new bank in 1881, gave a great impetus to business, besides providing one of the handsomest buildings in Auckland. Notwithstanding the close attention entailed by the onerous duties of the Bank, Mr. Cameron has found time to undertake many public duties. He has been a member of the Devonport borough council since its formation, his experience being of much use to the finance and legal committee of which he has long been a member. He has been asked, by an influential body of ratepayers to accept nomination for the mayoral chair, but has declined owing to the pressure on his time. Mr. Cameron is an old Mason but at present is unattached.

Mr. R. Cameron.

Mr. R. Cameron.

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