The Wanganui Branch of the Bank of New South Wales is situated in the centre of the business portion of Victoria Avenue, in close proximity to the post-office. The building—a substantial two-story edifice—contains the usual banking chambers, manager's room, and residence. The manager of the Wanganui branch is Mr. A. Stedman.

Bank of Australasia. The Wanganui branch has been established for several years. The banking chambers are situated in a handsome, two-story, wooden building in Ridgway Street, near the post-office. In addition to the banking offices there is a manager's residence attached. Mr. Edward Turner is in charge of the Wanganui branch.

The Bank of New Zealand, Wanganui, occupies an imposing two-story structure in the business part of Victoria Avenue. The manager is supported by a staff consisting of an accountant and six officers. The branch was opened in 1862.

Mr. John Henry Nixon, the Manager of the Bank of New Zealand, is the eldest son of the late Major John Nixon, who came to New Zealand, under the auspices of the New Zealand Company, in 1840. The subject of this notice was born in 1853 at Nelson, and was educated at the Wanganui Collegiate School. Having passed the Civil Service Examination in 1871, the joined the Bank of Australasia in April, 1872, and after six years in that institution he received an appointment in the National Bank of New Zealand. In 1880 he entered the Colonial Bank, becoming accountant on the establishment of the Wanganui branch. In 1889 he was promoted to the position of manager, and on the amalgamation of the two banks in 1895, he became manager of the Bank of New Zealand at Wanganui. Mr. Nixon's residence—“Sedgebrook Grange”—on the left bank of the Wanganui River, is a very picturesque spot. In sporting circles he is held in high repute, having been a prominent member of the Wanganui Jockey Club for twenty years. He breeds thoroughbred horses, and has a herd of pedigree Jersey cattle, and for some time past has been a large prize-taker at the local agricultural and pastoral shows. Mr. Nixon was married in 1884 to Miss Gray, of Wanganui, and has five children.

The Wanganui Branch of the National Bank of New Zealand, Limited, is situated in a two-story wooden building in Victoria Avenue.

Mr. John Cutfield, Manager of the Nationa Bank at Wanganui, is the fourth son of the late Dr. A. B. Cutfield, who practised his profession in Deal, Kent, where Mr. Cutfield was born in 1854. Educated at Epsom College, he went into the London and County Bank, and was with that institution for eight years—from the 10th of July, 1871, On leaving England for New Zealand he was the recipient of a testimonial from the general manager of the Bank in London. He came to New Zealand on a visit to his friends, and taking a liking to the country he decided to remain. He was appointed teller in 1879 to the New Plymouth branch of the National Bank, and subsequently became manager at Wanganui. Mr. Cutfield is married, and has six children.

Mr. J. F. Cutfield.

New Zealand Insurance Company (Fire and Marine), Victoria Avenue, Wanganui. Telephone, 25; P.O. page 1406 Box 72. Manager, Mr. A. L. Parsons. This branch was opened in 1876.

Mr. Arthur Langdon Parsons, Manager of the Wanganui branch of the New Zealand Insurance Company, who was appointed to that position in 1892, is the eldest son of Mr. E. B. Parsons, secretary of the Auckland Gas Company. Born at Dunedin in 1865, and educated at the Auckland College and Grammar School, he obtained his first experience of insurance matters with the New Zealand Accident Insurance Company. In 1881 Mr. Parsons joined the New Zealand Insurance Company, as a junior clerk, eventually rising to the position of chief clerk at the Auckland branch. Mr. Parsons is a churchwarden of the parish of Christ Church, Wanganui, which he represents on the Diocesan Synod. [In February, 1897, Mr. Parsons was promoted to the charge of the Christchurch branch.]

Mr. A. L. Parsons

The New Zealand Government Life Insurance Agency, Victoria Avenue, Wanganui. Resident agent, Mr. John Fairburn. The Wanganui district agency of this important Government Department has been established for many years.

Mr. John Fairburn, Resident Agent for the Wanganui District, was appointed in May, 1889. Born in Germany in 1865, he came to the Colony two years later, and was educated in Auckland. He joined the Government Life Insurance Department on leaving school.

Phœnix Asurance Company, Limited. Wanganui branch, Victoria Avenue. P.O. Box 15. Bankers, Bank of Australasia. Chief office for New Zealand, Customhouse Quay, Wellington. This branch was established in Wanganui about 1893, previous to which time the Company was represented by agents. A large business is transacted between the Rangitikei River and New Plymouth, the sub-agencies numbering twenty.

Mr. William Hall, District Manager of the Phœnix Assurance Company, who is also agent for the Scottish Metropolitan Accident Assurance Company and the New Zealand Plate Glass Insurance Company, was born in 1865 at Dunedin, where he was educated. Entering the employ of Messrs. Neill Bros., general merchants, Dunedin, in 1880, he remained in the business for eleven years. The firm were agents for the Phœnix Company, and when that company opened a branch at Dunedin Mr. Hall became one of the staff. He was promoted in 1893 to the office of manager for the Wanganui District. He is a member of the committee of the Wanganui Fire Insurance Association, and is also a member of the Wanganui Cricket Club, the Football Referees' Association, the Amateur Athletic and Cycling Club, and the Amateur Dramatic and Operatic Society.

South British Insurance Company (Fire and Marine), Wanganui Agency, Victoria Avenue, Wanganui. Mr. Morton Jones, branch manager. This office, which does business over the district extending from Rangitikei to Ngaire, was opened in 1878, Mr. Jones, the present manager, having held that position since its inception.

Mr. Morton Jones, J.P., Branch Manager of the South British Insurance Company, was born in Canada in 1839, was educated at St. John, New Brunswick, and came to New Zealand in 1860. He was auctioneering in Auckland till 1878, when he took up his present position.