IN REVIEW

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 135, 13 March 1940, Page 5

IN REVIEW

CENTURY OF BUSINESS UNION BANK'S PROGRESS We have been handed a booklet which has been issued by the Union Bank of Australia, Limited, to mark 100 years of business in New Zealand. Beautifully printed on art paper, it tells the story of the Bank's development and the difficulties encountered in the early years of its establishment. As the first Bank in New Zealand, the Union Bank of Australia wasj actively assisting in the development of New Zealand even before British sovereignty was proclaimed (the Treaty- of Waitangi was not signed until some months later), and it enjoys the enviable distinction of being the oldest established business in the country. i Reflection in Records. The story of the economic progress of New Zealand is" reflected in the Bank's records dating from 1840. Hope and optimism for. the future alternated with uncertainty and reverse for the first 20 years. Difficult problems pursued a Governor Avithout money, and the land question and the native question caused great concern. With the discovery of gold in Otago and the West Coast during the 'sixties, the permanent foundation of the Dominion's internal economic stability were laid. Roads and railways were then vigorously constructed and the erection of telegraph lines discussed. The Bank, with twenty years' experience in the country now behind it,, extended to fresh points, and on the goldfields entered upon an exciting phase of an already picturesque career. in the 'seventies, directors' reports show that immigration received more than the usual attention, "the progressive increase of population seems to be all thati is necessary for maintaining the present prosperity and for developing thefuture resources," , runs a statement dated 1875.

The Dominion's most lasting basis' of prosperity, however, was laid down in 1882 when the first refrigerated cargo of meat was shipped from Dunedin. Although the crisis of the 'nineties brought in its train very serious repercussions, regarded in revicAv, New Zealand's economic history shows a series of progres•>h v c steps steadily upward. Gazette Facsimile. The early records slioav that the Manager had his troubles. A sad intimation appears that a certificate of value for £5,000 on Coutts and Co (London Bankers) had been nego tiated for a party, but that the document had been found to be a forgery. The £5000 was not recoverable as the party responsible had sailed for California and there was no Avireless in those days. The book contains a fac-simile of the first page of the New Zealand Gazette No. 1, The Gazette Avas printed in London, and this ac* counts for the six months Avhich elapsed between its publication anxl the establishment of the Bank inj New Zealand. The date is Friday. September 6, 1839. The price w.as 9dJ. Quite a lot of the space on the front page is taken by the New Zealand Land Company's prospectus and two-thirds of a column is devoted to, affairs dealing Avith the establishment of the Union Bank of Australia. One ad\ T ertisement reads: TO EMIGRANTS and Shippers—Medicine Chests &c. Messrs NOAKES and Company, Wholesale and Shipping Druggists, 87 Snow Hill, have always ready a large assortment of Avell-seasoned SHIP and FAMILY MEDICINE CHESTS, particularly adapted for Ncav Zealand and Australia.