ANZ Bankng Museum
ANZ Banking Museum illustrates the history of Australian banking and financial services. It displays banking equipment, manuscripts and illustrations from the ANZ bank s substantial archive. The exhibition is illustrated by a unique collection of historic moneyboxes and other banking paraphernalia and houses in a magnificent gothic building.Location: lower ground floor, Gothic Bank, 380 Collins Street, Melbourne.
The ANZ Bank building at 376-392 Collins Street Melbourne, is an amalgamation of two buildings: the former E.S. & A. Gothic Bank, on the corner site, and the former Melbourne Stock Exchange, fronting Collins Street. While both these designs are specifically Gothic in style, their appearance is a demonstration of the two vastly contrasting Gothic revival developments in Melbourne during the 1880s and 1890s. The Gothic Bank was the first building to be constructed and is an example of the first Gothic style. It was designed by William Wardell, to fairly detailed specifications laid out by the General Manager, Sir George Verdon. The style is restrained externally, and internally graceful and ornate. It is secular Gothic, although Wardell had previously made a name for himself through church architecture. Goss & Mason were the contractors and Alexander Todd was appointed as Clerk of Works. The works began in 1883 and the building was opened in May 1887, a year late. The final cost was over ��77,000, almost twice the budget. The entire ground floor was established as the banking chamber, and the first and second floors as a residence for the General Manager. Sir George Verdon moved into the residence in 1888 and remained there until his retirement. In 1934 the Lyceum Club leased these rooms and used them until 1957.
The former Stock Exchange was designed by the Melbourne architect William Pitt and was constructed in 1887. The style has been labelled Free Gothic and is far less restrained than the earlier building. The facade is extremely ornate and each level has been designed differently. Pitt was one of the best known executors of this new Gothic style in Melbourne, who at the time received criticism from more conservative designers. The total cost of the building, including the land, was ��254,000. Overall the land purchase and building construction were a poor investment and in 1921 the Stock Exchange, due to financial difficulties, was forced to sell its property back to the ES&A Bank for only ��136,500. The main trading floor for the Stock Exchange was on the ground level in a large vaulted chamber, known as the Cathedral Room. This room was designed with the reverence and grace of a church, an impression emphasised by the vaulted roof and the stained glass windows. In 1923 the bank renovated the site to combine the two buildings, thus enlarging the Banking Chamber, leasing the offices and running the Safe Deposit.
