Our Stories

Please click here to find the terms and conditions for our WCUC26 Prizes.

What we know as Regional Australia Bank was created in Armidale, NSW, in 1969, as the University of New England Staff Credit Union to serve the financial needs of university staff. Eventually the credit union’s bond was expanded and there were mergers with Armidale Credit Union in 1981, North West Local Government Employees Credit Union…

The CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) Co-operative Credit Society was registered in Victoria on 19 September 1957. Interest in establishing a credit union in the Melbourne offices of the CSIRO had been piqued by the 1954 establishment of the Laboratories Credit Union by Sydney based CSIRO staff. The impetus to start a Victorian…

Today we’re introducing a video that takes us back to the early days of the Australian Credit Unions Visa card. Historically, the Australian customer owned banking sector has been technological innovators and thought leaders. That includes the fields of electronic banking and plastic card adoption. Examples of customer owned banking futurism include the first 24-hour…

As Family First Bank merged with Beyond Bank a few months ago, we thought we’d keep the Family First flame alive with this short video celebrating their 40th anniversary in 2007. The video was shot in what was then Family First Credit Union’s Lithgow branch by archives volunteer, John Lee. Long time Family First Chair,…

The Wallis Report (Financial System Inquiry) handed down in 1997 was a momentous event in Australian financial history. The changes were widely heralded by customer owned banks at the time but perhaps there are some misgivings 30 years on? As part of our ongoing digitisation program, last year we digitised this 17-minute film produced by…

When Satisfac Direct Credit Union merged with PowerState Credit Union in October 2009 becoming Credit Union SA, it had already served the people of South Australia for 51 years. “Satisfac” is an acronym that stands for South Australian Teachers Institute Savings and Finance Co-operative Society. Initially registered as a “finance co-operative”, it became Satisfac Credit…

Australian Mutuals Archives staff have always been Jacks and Jills of all trades. Shot in 2003 by late tireless archives volunteer John Lee, we bring you video of a gala event celebrating the publication of Select Credit Union 1963-2003 – a history compiled by Australian Mutuals Archives champion, Richard Raxworthy. The video is mostly a…

Earlwood is a suburb in Sydney’s Inner West. Soon to be quite hip perhaps as it’s adjacent to trendy and multicultural Marrickville. Its modern roots stem from a land grant obtained by John Parkes in 1827. Initially known as Parkestown, it became Earlwood in 1918. Earlwood Credit Union Co-operative was instituted in 1954 with a…

On September 7, 1996, NSW Premier Bob Carr opened a new branch of Orana Credit Union in Trangie NSW, amid much pomp and ceremony. This digitised VHS tape of the event shows how important such banking facilities were in regional and rural Australia. As the Regional Banking Investment Alliance (RBIA) shows, it’s still a pressing…

Wayback in 1983, the Australian Federation of Credit Unions Ltd (AFCUL) launched the Australian Credit Union Video Network. Here we bring you the Network’s “Volume 1” which we recently digitised. Created as low-cost, in-house training for credit union staff and directors, each volume runs for an hour and is split into segments. Volume 1 includes…

“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…