Curio

State Library of New South Wales
£1 note design City Bank of Sydney

£1 note design City Bank of Sydney

1893
Watercolour and gouache on card
Bequest of Sir William Dixson, 1952
DN / P 117 & DN / P 118

The City Bank commenced business on 9 February 1863, on the corner of King and George streets in Sydney. The financial strength of the bank was particularly evident during the Australian banking crisis of 1893, when it was one of only a handful of Australian banking institutions which did not suspend trading. With the bank’s notes backed by NSW government legislation, their issue was instrumental in overcoming stagnant trade and commerce.

In that same year, the bank changed its name to the City Bank of Sydney by an Act of Parliament (An Act to alter the title of ‘The City Bank’ to that of ‘The City Bank of Sydney’,16 March 1893). This change may have been the catalyst for new designs for the bank’s paper currency.

In 1911 the City Bank of Sydney was one of 16 banks to supply blank note forms to the Australian government. These notes were superscribed as redeemable in gold and issued as the first Commonwealth notes. The bank merged with the Australian Bank of Commerce Ltd (formerly known as the Australian Joint Stock Bank) in 1916, eventually to be absorbed by the Bank of NSW (now the Westpac Banking Corporation) in 1931.

Sir William Dixson built his numismatics collection over many years. He acquired entire collections, including that of Dr Arthur Andrews, who compiled a handbook of Australasian tokens and coins.

Between 1891 and 1895 the Australian economy shrank by 30%. In 1893 unemployment reached 30% of skilled labour, and in the six weeks between Easter and the end of the financial year, 13 of Australia’s 22 banks were forced to close their doors.