You Can Depend on Us!

“Only this morning I had a chap in the office who tried to borrow money from a bank to complete a house he was building himself. They said they would loan him money only after the house was completed. He joined the credit union and we agreed to lend him $2000 and keep lending more as he repays the loan”.

That was a quote from Stan Watterson from Dependable Credit Union in 1969 when it was known as Matraville Credit Union. It illustrates the important part mutuals have played in Australian life.

The wonderfully named Dependable Credit Union is a good example of an industrial credit union that became a community credit union to keep growing its membership. It was begun by workers at ICIANZ Ltd in Botany, Sydney, a chemical factory. They were aided in their goal by the NSW Credit Union League who met with the workers onsite.

ICIANZ agreed up front that subscriptions and loan repayments could be deducted from credit union member salaries. This made it easier for the credit union to get off the ground and with that the ICIANZ Employees’ Credit Union Co-operative was registered on 7 July 1960 with membership open to all ICIANZ employees. The initial HQ was at 16-20 Beauchamp Road, Matraville, with the administration of the credit union conducted by volunteers.

In its first year of operation there were 172 members and 99 loans were made.  By August 1963 a credit union office had been fitted out with enlarged systems that included addressograph plates and history data cards. 

In 1968, the business was renamed Matraville Credit Union. That same year Noel Bain commenced as the credit union’s first full time manager and he worked with two other employees. In 1980, the credit union’s records were transferred to Financial Computing Services’ Prime On-Line Computer System. The next major step came the following year when the NSW Government authorised the credit union to extend membership to people who live or work in the Municipality of Botany or the Central or South wards of the Municipality of Randwick.

Finally, in 1984 the credit union was re-branded Dependable Credit Union and a new office was opened in Maroubra. Dependable Credit Union continued to trade until 2002 when it merged with Members Australia Credit Union.