The Establishment of New Zealand Savings Banks in Colonial Times 1840-1908

Abstract

This paper examines the development of savings banks in New Zealand from 1846 through to 1908 and the role they played in the new colony. As part of the British Empire, New Zealand savings banks were modelled on the savings bank initially established by Duncan in Dumfriesshire in 1810. The Scottish model, exemplified by the savings bank opened in Ruthwell by Revered Duncan in 1810, appears to be a starting point for the Australasian variants. Like the original, the intention of the colonial banks was to provide a place where ‘working poor’ could learn and benefit from the lessons of thrift. This was not so much for thrift’s sake but in order to secure the economic future of the working classes (Bowels, 1817).This study relies on archival newspapers, archival records maintained by savings banks, New Zealand yearbooks, relevant Acts of Parliament and Parliamentary debates recorded in such as the Hansard to document the establishment and management of savings banks in New Zealand. New Zealand’s savings banks including the Post Office Savings Bank are briefly compared to those previously established in the United Kingdom. The research identifies differences between New Zealand savings banks and the previously established UK savings banks. We also document tensions that existed between New Zealand savings banks and the POSB established in 1867. This research contributes to the discussion surrounding the purpose of savings banks in that it documents the contributions made by both savings banks and the POSB in a developing colony. It also identifies the important role of savings in a pre-welfare state economy.