The Union Bank of Australia was an Australian bank in operation from 1837 to 1951. Union Bank of Australia, Sydney

It was established in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in October 1837 with a subscribed capital of £500,000. The foundation of the bank had followed a visit to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...

banker Philip Oakden with a view to forming a large joint stock bank operating across the Australasian colonies, during which time he gained the support of businessman and banker

George Fife Angas George Fife Angas (1 May 1789 – 15 May 1879) was an English businessman and banker who, while residing in England, played a significant part in the formation and establishment of the Province of South Australia. He established the South Aus ...

who had founded the

South Australian Company The South Australian Company, also referred to as the South Australia Company, was formed in London on 9 October 1835, after the '' South Australia (Foundation) Act 1834'' had established the new British Province of South Australia, with the S ...

. The new bank absorbed Oakden's struggling Launceston-based Tamar Bank upon his return, and opened its first branch in the former Tamar Bank premises on 1 May 1838. It expanded into

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

on 18 October 1838, when it acquired the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

business of the Tasmanian

Derwent Bank Derwent derives from the Brythonic term ''Derventio'', meaning "valley thick with oaks". It may refer to: Places Australia * Derwent River (Tasmania) * Derwent Valley Council, a local government area of Tasmania, Australia, covering the uppe ...

, which had been the first bank in the city. It then opened its first

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

branch on 2 January 1839. In 1840, it opened its first

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

branch in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. In its early years, it had an agreement with the original Bank of South Australia, of which Angas was also a director, not to open branches in that colony; however, an

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

branch was established in 1850. A

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

branch opened in 1858 and a branch in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

followed in 1878. It became the Union Bank of Australia Limited in 1880. The bank remained open throughout the economic crises of the 1890s. It acquired the

Bank of South Australia BankSA, formerly known as the Bank of South Australia, the State Bank of South Australia and the Savings Bank of South Australia is the largest bank in South Australia. It is a subsidiary of Westpac. History Bank SA, formerly known as The B ...

in 1892. By its centenary in 1937, it had 267 branches and agencies through Australia and

. It merged with the

Bank of Australasia The Bank of Australasia was an Australian bank in operation from 1835 to 1951. Headquartered in London, the bank was incorporated by Royal Charter in March 1834. It had initially been planned to additionally include first South Africa and then ...

to form the Australia and New Zealand Bank Limited in 1951.

Historic former branches

A number of the bank's former branches are now heritage-listed. These include: * the Orange, New South Wales branch * the Albany, Western Australia branch * the first Fremantle, Western Australia branch * the second Fremantle, Western Australia branch * the Maryborough, Queensland branch * the Rockhampton, Queensland branch * the Townsville, Queensland branch

References

{{Authority control Defunct banks of Australia Banks established in 1837 Banks disestablished in 1951 Australia and New Zealand Banking Group 1951 mergers and acquisitions