Pics From The Past | 100 years of the Commonwealth Bank in Shepparton

“The local branch of the Commonwealth Bank began the ‘Savings Bank’ business at the Shepparton Post Office yesterday, as they did in all post offices in Victoria. No extra staff was engaged, and no depositors came forward. Of course, they are being offered three per cent interest against the 3.5 per cent offered by the State Savings Bank.” (Shepparton Advertiser July 16, 1912)

Banking in Shepparton began in 1874 with the Commercial Bank of Australia conducting operations in a building at the rear of the Shepparton Hotel in High St. Mooroopna had a bank already established by this company and the Shepparton office was only really a receiving agency of the Mooroopna branch.

The building of the new Commonwealth Bank on the corner of Wyndham and High Sts was criticised by some people due to the demolition of some newly built shops on this significant heritage site. “The first Shepparton storekeeper, Mr A. F. Rowe, had conducted business on this site for many years, and his sons had erected a fine row of brick shops costing many thousands of pounds just before the bank purchased the property from them. These fine shops were demolished and new buildings costing 5200 pounds were erected in their stead. This move by the Commonwealth Bank is typical of government extravagance. To demolish these fine buildings when there were many dilapidated structures on equally as valuable sites, which could have been purchased at a more reasonable figure. Further, at the time of demolition, there was a scarcity of shops for business purposes.” (W.S. James, History of Shepparton, 1938)

This Shepparton Advertiser article celebrated the new building and Shepparton’s growth and transition over the years.

“Although still to a degree in the stage of transition from a typical old-time rural township to a centre of population which, within a comparatively reasonable time, will permit Shepparton to be proclaimed a city, many steps have already been taken towards the goal that constitutes the acme of ambition for those who have watched with interest and pride the evolutionary process that has been going on for the past decade, particularly in the past five years. Many old landmarks in the way of buildings from the early days — low, squat, ill-ventilated and badly lighted edifices — have given place to brick, double-storey modern buildings, the architecture of which would do credit to the commercial centre of any up-to-date city.

“The latest of these new creations is the new building on the block of land at the north-east corner of High and Wyndham Sts, where, for very many years, the Rowe family carried on business. The building is a distinct addition to the architectural beauties of Shepparton, which are constantly being added to and are playing an important part in advancing the status of the town, which already ranks high in the list of most important populous centres, not only in Victoria but in the whole Commonwealth. The new Commonwealth Bank is a two-storey Georgian design. The plans were prepared by the Federal Works and Railways Department, while the contractor is Mr J. Cox of Melbourne … The whole of the ground floor is devoted to the use of the bank for the discharge of the associated duties, while the upper section constitutes the living apartment (including bedrooms, kitchen and living areas) for the manager, Mr A. J. A. McDonald, who has held the position for some years.” (Shepparton Advertiser 1929)

Bricks and mortar buildings have been the traditional physical presence of banking throughout history. However, with the advent of technology, modern banking has shifted online and the need for bank buildings in the CBD will continue to decrease and further change Shepparton’s streetscape, with fewer reminders of when bankers and tellers in buildings managed our money.