DUNEDIN SAVINGS BANK

Evening Star, Issue 19660, 13 September 1927, Page 4

DUNEDIN SAVINGS BANK

HEW CHAMBERS OPENED HISTORIC REMIHiSCEHCES Sixty or more representative citizens accepted tho invitation of the trustees ot the Dunedin Saving!) inline to assemble in the new premises, Dn'v]inr street, yesterday afternoon, they Were received by Mr 0. L. Denniston (president) at the lower, doorway and invited to inspect the interior, duly noting the perfectness of the building and its appointments,■ as described m pur article on Saturday. UNLOCKING THE HOOK. Mr Denniston tendered the guests a hearty welcome from tho trustees to their little function. He said . ittle because to many people ib appear such,..but in tho eyes ol tho tius+de« it was significant, because it meant .“forward step, and L felt sale in assuming that it was a sign of progiea which their fellow citizens would imt begrudge. Ho would leave the banms record in figures to , one of his colloacmes who had undertaken a review on'those lines, but ho might remind the company that the punecha Lank was lounded in 180-1 in 1 alley s 'Buildings, then removed to premises 1 the site of which was now the hsh suop | between two ol the banks It was there, in 1808, that ho made hfjust denosit. In 1874 the bank moved to tho -building now vacated. That building was twice altered, but it proved too small, so the Dowling street site was secured and the new building was complote. The guests cguld amuse themselves by guessing how long itwould serve for the purpose ot the ore wing business. There was no fault about the Lower High streot bmkhng except want ot space. It had 14tt ot cointer and room tor two tellers. I o new building had a counter ot 4-.1l and accommodation tor six tellers, so far as ho (Mr Denniston) cou d see tho contractor, Mr D. 0 A, carried out his • work most iaifl tully, everything being well hnislied and mniim- a handsome appearance. It Mi O’Connell was of a. contrary opinion he would get a .chance to say so later an. (Laughter.) The trustees rather prided themselves on the new stl '°’’S' room, it was Chubb’s latest, and tho gate, weighing two tons, was claimec te bo impregnable. , |Wr . The Mayor of Dunedin (Mi iavu nerf congratulated tho trustees upon coming into occupation ot such commodious and beautiful premises, limy deserved the thanks'ot the citizens at lam; for their work in carving on an institution that was of so much beneht. If Thrift was the handmaiden of success, the trustees had obviously courted that elusive damsel to some purpose. It was wonderful that there should he 18,000 depositors in a district that haci a population of only Bn,ooo. Jho bank’s success in recent years had been quite phenomenal. It had seive the citizens well, and the citizens rightly bad confidence m it. Its influence was growing, and in that connection tho thought came to his mind that if it-was permitted to 30m tno Associated Banks it might persuade them to consider the desirability or liberating some gold lor circulation. (Applause.) ... ,i As Mr H. Maude no had been unwell and could not,appear, his partner Mr K. H. Fraser, presented Mr Denniston, oii behalf of this linn of architects, with as golden key. The recipient said it was the first key ever given to him. Ha thanked tho givers very much, and said he was pleased to learn, that air Mandeno would shortly be about again. Mr Denniston then unlocked the upper door and formally declared the new chambers open, announcing that the tellers would be ready to do business with tho general public next morning—-to-day. ■ TEA AT THE SOMERSET.

The company reassembled, with, a tew others, in the Somerset Lounge at the Savoy a few minutes later. Whilst tea was being served Mr Denniston related a few historic changes.- Sir John Roberts, who was present, and Mr I - C. Neill, who could not attend, represented an epoch in the trusteeeship. They were in the batch or tbbi appointments. After an interval ot eight years, in 1889, there was another batch, of whom he (Mr Denniston) was the sole survivor. Mr 1. Moodio was the oldest living officer of the bank, if an auditor could be classed as an officer, for he had been auditor lor a lifetime and was now ninety-one years of a' r c. Amongst the guests that daj, Mr Denniston added, was a gentleman who it was claimed was the oldest surviving depositor, his mother having put mouev in for him. Ho reicricd to Mr D. M. Milter. Perhaps Mr Miller would tell the particulars. Mr Miller said that he knew nothing of the matter himcslf, but so tar as ho had heard his mother did make a deposit for him in 1805. Mr Denniston: Is it there yet? ,?dr Milier: Yes, there' is a deposit there. ! . Mr D. O’Connell, the contractor, being called upon, acknowledged his indebtedness to Messrs Mandeno and Fraser tor preparing such a tine sot ot plans, and ha remarked that the sub-contractois had all put in faithful work. These things had helped to make the joe a pleasure to him and ins partner (Ml Patterson), who had charge ot the job. The new building was practically on the solid rock. He added that the old building, the underneath of which had to be pulled out, was quite sound. SIXTY YEARS’ REVIEW’.

Mr E. A. Rosevear, deputy-presi-dent, was, attentively listened to as he presented .a series ot facts, fortified by tigures, as .to the progress ot this savings bank. This made the fourth homo of the bank in its sixty-three years of operations. The trustees had, by deciding to move into new premises, showed considerable foresight, and lie consideied. the property now acquired would answer for all time. The live private savings banks—Auckland, New Plymouth, Hokitika, Dunedin, and Invercargill - were now so deeply routed u the hearts of the citizens of these cities, [particularly Auckland, that no one vouJU ever dream of suggesting that they bo closed because they were encroaching an the rights of others. The latest return of tho population of Auckland and suburbs was 200,825. The teturns the Auckland Savings Rank at Ma ch gi this year showed it had 119,007 depositors, or 69* .per cent, of the whole pooulatibn, men, womcny-anil children, as*depositors. The Dunedin Savings Ba'nk depositors on August 31 ot tins year were 19,491. The population of Dunedin and suburbs, including Port Chalmers to Mosgiel, was 82,-50,. winch gave a percentage of Mil per emit, to every man, woman, and child. In other words, every second person in Auckland and practically every fourth person in Dunedin was a depositor. Durin< r the past live months the bank had opened 2,231 new accounts, or, in other words, during the live months 457 per month, 109 per week,, or -0 per day of five and a-halt days per week. Their depositors had increased from their-diamond jubilee jeai (19/4) to August 31 of the present year by 112 pel cent. The. neavy withdrawal returns of the Post Office Savings Rank for tho past quarter were so significant that ho' looked up tho. * Gazette, us published on September 1, and he found the whole of the Post Office Savings Ranks —except Westport—showed an excess of withdrawals over deposits, whereas ouch of the .private savings banks showed the reverse—an excess of deposits ■ over amount standing to the credit of their depositors at the end of the financial year (March 31) was £1,400,782, aid jb the 5 other five mouths to August 31

the excess of deposits over withdrawals totalled £63,377, making, tho • giand total to the credit of depositors £1,464,159. Tho amount of deposits from the diamond jubilee year 1924 to August 31, 1927 (about three and a-half years). had increased by 70 per cent. It was worth noting that amongst their accounts they had a largo , nmnoer; of school savings bank accounts and thrift club accounts. While these accounts represented only one person - in the bank’s books, they represented hundreds in reality. The bank did not know, for instance, how many scholars wore in each school bank, but it did know that the thrift clubs attached to business houses—principally retailcovered between- 2,000 and 3,000 cmployces.MAccording to tlio ’Ycnr Book,’ tho average amount of each'depositor in the Commonwealth of Australia was £45 3s 7d; that of the Now Zealand depositor, including Post Office _ and private' savings banks, was £6O 15s 3d,or, per head of population, £33 IDs, against that of tho Commonwealth, £3l 0s sd. Auckland’s average amount per depositor was £57 los 9cl, whereas the amount of their depositors averaged the sum of £SI 8s Id. The interest to depositors paid both by State and private savings banks in Australia and Now Zealand varied Tom 3-i per (4mt. to 4$ per cent. Ho bad every reason to believe that the Dunedin Savings Bank had, up to the last month or two, been the only bank paying the highest rate. Auckland was now paving the same as Dunedin. The Dunedin Savings Bank had , paid to its depositors during its sixty-Uirce years of operation tho handsome sum ol £524,529 as interest. During, the first year of its operation £56 19s 4d was credited to the depositors, am] on March 31 last it amounted to £59,551 7s 9d. Tho bank’s benefactions during its operations had been no less a sun than £31,855, The total anmunteof tlie funds of the bank was £1,4(3,969 14s 2d, and the percentages of the various assets were approximately-Mort-gages, 581- per cent.; local body debentures, 27-i per cent.; Government debentures, 4 per cent.; cash, 11 percent, ; buildings, 2) per cent. From those figures ib was obvious that the bank had been making rapid strides during the recent years, and had grown almost out of recognition. The bank would, he believed, grow at the same rapid ratio, and merited the deseriotivo titlo of tho * Citizens ]lnnk ; which had been •given to it. It was much: to tho credit, of .the staff that they had succeeded in maintaining the business as they had under such cramped conditions in tho old oniCc. Tho bank bad, in its sixty-three years of operation, only three managers, and in its present manager, Mr James Quailo, it had a gentleman who had upheld tho high standard, set by Ins predecessors. • Mr Denniston said ho was reminded by Mr Hosevcar’s remarks that lie should have said earlier something about the bank’s staff. It was a good staff, and, whilst tho hank had been blessed with good managers from tho beginMr James Quail© was a. speoiiily good manager. • If any thing, had to be put to.right ho saw about it at oneb. Jt might bo added that tho Oumtlni Savings Bank was tho only bank that had its headquarters in. this city. CLIMATE A FACTOR.

Sir John Roberts, ,whose rising at request of tho president was the signal for continued applause, said that when Jio became ft trustee, forty-six years ago, the bank had not 10 per cent, ot its present business. Sir Edmund Smith was then tho manager—a veiy worthy citizen, of the highest standard . (Applause.) His two sons, Mr 11. J. Smith and Mr Fred. Smith, were pro sent that day, and it was pleasing to know that they were following in the footsteps of their lather. Ho l.'cir John) was struck with the remark that tho average in Dunedin per head of depositors was considerably b-glici than in Auckland. That pointed to rhe frugality of our people—a characteristic of Dunedin. The fact strengths red his belief in- climatic influence. In countries like Scotland, Norway, and Sweden the same frugality was noticeable. Nearer the equator the people were more frivolous. He tendered bis hearty congratulations to the trustees and the officers of the Dunedin Savings Bank on now being possessed of such handsome chambers,, and said he felt sure that in thus providing ample accommodation for the present and the future they had acted wisely. UNIVERSITY’S CONGRATULATIONS. As Mr T. K. Sidey, Chancellor of the Otago University, is in Wellington attending to his parliamentary duties, he asked Mr W. J. Morrell _ (ViceChancellor) to represent the University at this function. Mr Morrell tendered tho congratulations of the University upon the possession of such fine promises, and even move heartily upon tho vast increase of tho hunk’s operations. That- increase was the best testimony to tho wisdom of tho trustees. He also desired to acknowledge the money gifts of tho bank by the _ trustees, amounting in all to £10,750 since 1903 s Those repeated gifts were highly acceptable, not only for _ their money value, but as evidence of the deep interest taken in tho welfare of the University. Other institutions had also benefited by the bounty of the trustees, and he, with other citizens, shared tho belief that these gifts were given with the worthiest motives. The advance of knowledge depended largely on thrift and frugality, and these two qualities had undoubtedly been inculcated into the citizens by the bank since its_ inception with much New Zealand prided itself on tho wide diffusion of education and the good standard of living throughout tho dominion, and it seemed fitting that a bank, from its surplus profits, should contribute to institutions with educational and humanitarian aims. It was a means by which the savings of the citizens at large were used to support worthy ends which in some other countries largely relied upon great gifts from millionaires who happily were not bred here. Mr Deiiniston intimated that Sir George Fenwick was to have spoken, hut Tind been called away. The last speaker would be Mr J. Taylor, president of the Chamber of Commerce. BUSINESS BESTOWS BLESSING.

Mr Taylor said he did not suppose that any" of the original- trustees over dreamt in his wildest flights of imagination that'sixty years later tho business of tho bunk .would bo conducted in such palatial premises as those they had seen that afternoon, nor could ho have conceived that tho, amount at tho credit of depositors would Have grown to nearly £1,500,000. The citizens of Dunedin might well bo proud of tho Dunedin Savings Bank, for it had a truly wonderful record. .Founded to teach the younger generation the virtues of thrift, it had grown with tho city, and it had also helped the growth of tho city, and so ably had it been conducted that, while giving its depositors a higher rate of interest than that given by the P.ost Office Savings Bank, it , had been able to contribute to educational and [philanthropic institutions in the city no less an amount than some £33,000—a wonderful record of prudent oversight, careful management, and practical -generosity. _ And when ono considered that all this had' been done on the small margin; of interest between' what was allowed to depositors- sid that. which _■ tho bank itself could earn'on money invested in first mortgages and Covcrnnicnt and local bodies’ securities (lor these wore the only investments allowed by Act of Parliament) one realised the care and attention that the trustees ajid management gave to the affairs of the bank, ■As citizens of Dunedin they were under a heavy debt of gratitude, to the trustees for their unselfish work. Rather, an interesting coincidence was the fact that the worthy and esteemed president of the trustees-(Mr C. L.' Denniston) was the first president of-,the-reconsti-tuted Chamber of Commerce forty years ago, and lie was now its senior Jile. member;'-while the deputy .president

(Mr E. Rosevear), was vice-president of the chamber this year, and would be-president next year. The gathering was brought to a close with the singing of the National Anthem.'.: