So in the flurry of trying to track down as much information as possible about the bank building, I came across a couple of eBay listings with a little history. A gentleman who lived near Ipswich had listed three advertisement printing plates for the National Bank of Australasia. I messaged him and asked whether he had any others and he advised that yes, in fact he did. I promptly snapped up all he had and decided these would make a fantastic display within the front area of the building which I’d like to see open back up to the public with an historical section about the bank that once operated there.

These are a remarkable find. On messaging further with the seller he advised they were offered to him some years ago by a retired bank employee. How he managed to get a hold of these is beyond me, as presumably they would have been in the possession of the newspapers that ran the ads. Never the less, I am particularly fond of this find, and will enjoy trying to date the plates when time permits. They most certainly date to the time when the National Bank absorbed the Queensland National Bank.

The book “Gold and Paper” by Geoffrey Blaney on page 378 states that:

As the Queensland National Bank was anxious to preserve its name, it was agreed that all advertising, letter-heads, cheque forms, and buildings, throughout Queensland should carry “for at least a generation” the sign:
THE NATIONAL BANK OF AUSTRALASIA LIMITED
with which is united
THE QUEENSLAND NATIONAL BANK LIMITED.

This quote is clearly read in three of the plates, which must therefore obviously be the oldest plates in the bunch. I had found an earlier version of the “Deposit your money” plate in newspapers in around February 1954, however all three of mine exhibit the crest of the National Bank which was not granted until June of the same year. More research is required to find them in the many newspapers held on Trove.

I’ve also been able to find the beautiful calendars that the National Bank and later the National Australia Bank put out every year. I’m fairly certain I’ve now managed to acquire a complete collection from around 1959 through to 2001, some of which will be displayed along with the plates and other items which will provide a little history of the bank that serviced this town for some 82 years.