1959/1960 "QUO FATA VOCANT" BANKING!

THE FATES WERE CALLING

1959 1960 "QUO FATA VOCANT" 

The Motto of the ill fated H.M.A.S. VOYAGER was "QUO FATA VOCANT" (“Where the Fates May Call).

The next stage in my career development had something of the mysterious , or perhaps accidental, about it.It was almost as if I was being guided , or being operated by some remote control.  Having decided to get out of the N.S.W. Department of Railways and its advancement by seniority trap, I began to cast about for opportunities. I could see that my preferred career in the Law was not going to happen, as my Mum and Dad could not afford to support me through Uni. And I could not get articled on an employed wage paying basis with satisfactory terms. I was open to suggestions via the media. In the best Aussie tradition, I would be pragmatic and take what I could get.

As it happened, I found an ad in the paper from the Commonwealth Bank, looking to recruit clerical staff. So I walked down to George &Market Streets, went up to the Staff Department and said I was interested in talking about the ad I was asked to take a seat. After a few minutes a Mr. Christie introduced himself and invited me in for a chat. That all went well, though I can't remember a single detail other than that he invited me to go outside and fill out a form. I did this giving my personal particulars. It was returned to his office. Some minutes later, a beaming Mr. Christie welcomed me to the staff of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and informed me that I would commence work on such and such a date at BERALA Branch!

(It is sad to record that in researching this post, I came across the information that Mr. Vern Christie, who went on to become the General Manager of the Commonwealth Bank, committed suicide in 1991. A subsequent Press report on another financial story mentioned his suicide in passing, tying it in to another deceased person's irregular business dealings, but with no evidence adduced. God have mercy on his soul.)

I was genuinely surprised. I did not believe I had applied for a job, but merely enquired about the ad. I was more than a little taken aback. However, I decided to say nothing of that, but merely thank him and preserve my options.

As I left to return to the Green House, I decided that I would accept the appointment, at least on a temporary basis. It would get me out of the seniority mire - because the Bank promoted firstly on ability - and allow me time to check out whatever else might be available. It would be 1974 before I would make any further change.

Banking had never seemed t offer excitement , or very great interest(!!)

I had often had people of varying ages suggest to me that I should work in a Bank, but I always rejected the idea summarily. Despite what I actually saw with my own eyes, the mere mention of working in a Bank always conjured up the image of some geeky person wearing an eye shade and a vest a la the 1860s!

My stay at my home Branch BERALA, was very brief, and it taught me nothing and similarly did nothing for the Bank!

But I was there little more than 10 days I think, when one of those famous letters came from Staff Department: " It has been decided..." to transfer Mr Anthony Dixon to Stock and Share Department at George and Market Sts in the City. To-day this operation would be called a Share Registry. It maintained the Share Registers of client companies and oversaw the payment of their dividends etc. It also maintained the Bond and Debenture Registries of a number of Semi Government Authorities ( Nigerian friends read "Parastatals" )which operated the various Public Utilities. This was not classical Banking - so much the better! It was an extremely busy and demanding place to work with many long hours of overtime being worked to meet corporate deadlines. It was a time of intense share market activity with many New Issues of Shares, which involved us in producing all manner of documents and receiving mail by the hundredweight! There were a variety of rights and entitlements to be dealt with and, at all  times  the tension of deadlines.

TYPICAL SHARE CERTIFICATE

For much of this time, I was involved in the rather more sedate Bond and Debenture Registry area, and only became involved in the excitement when asked to do some overtime, working late on the laborious hack work of the share issues and dividend payments.

Through this whole period, the Bank was using for this work, a Computer driven by Punch Cards. These were Cards a little larger than a cheque which had punched into them in code, all the relevant information to issue a cheque, or a Share Certificate. We thought it was marvellous. But only for a year or two. The reconciliation of the Share Registers  and the Share Certificates issued and the dividend cheques with the Shareholdings still came down to much machine addition and ticking off and proving of Batches of Work. This would produce the scene around 9.00 p.m. on an overtime night, of the Chief Clerk, a short chain -smoking loud mouthed little bloke steaming up and down the aisle with yards and yards of adding machine tape trailing behind him, wreathed in cigarette smoke and haranguing whoever he deemed responsible for the latest failure to reconcile.

The place was full of characters. The Registrar was a real gentleman - not a common type in the Commonwealth Bank. His name was Grant Lawry, he was related to a famous Australian Cricketer Bill Lawry about whom I knew, and know, nothing. But I admired Mr. Lawry for his calm, measured, gentlemanly manner at all times. His deputy was a Queenslander Bill Packman; he did not bear any resemblance to the Registrar in character, though he was not a rowdy. It is strange that in the Commonwealth Bank at the time people promoted from Queensland to Head Office (which we were part of) had an aura of formidable achievement about them. The original Chief Clerk was a Victorian named Ian Bailey a somewhat younger man with a reputation for brilliance, who quickly moved on to greater things.He was succeeded by the little bloke referred to above. 

It may have been the invincible arrogance of youth, but I never felt overawed by the reputed intellectual capabilities of these fellows. In truth I didn't see much evidence of it. That is not to deny them considerable talents. But I found that the skills necessary to flourish in the Bank were a certain basic facility with numbers and quick reflexes in the performance of repetitive work.

Happily I was not too often involved in these exploits other than in the course of overtime. I became involved in the handling of deceased estate matters, where bond and debenture holders had died and solicitors had to satisfy our requirements to transfer title to the Estate or to Beneficiaries.I thus gained exposure to even more aspects of the Law. I got to know even more people in the Legal fraternity in the course of this work. One I got to know really well and I had a bet with him about the Kennedy vs. Nixon Election. He was for Nixon and I was for Kennedy! So I ended up collecting from the future Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia! Michael Kirby used to regularly call at our office and we talked across the counter about the events of the day as well as deceased estates and Probates. He has since become an active and radical advocate of a disordered lifestyle. He showed nothing of that at the time, and I was sad to see his decline.

It is interesting how our positions in political matters have changed. He was for the Republican free enterprise advocate  and Conservative Nixon, whereas he is now seen as an advocate for radical Left issues such as homosexuality and other Green Agenda items. I was supporting the Democrat anti business Kennedy, but have for 40 years, been firmly  committed to a conservative political agenda both here and overseas.My advocacy of Kennedy was based on a personal belief in him and his approach.I have long since been thoroughly disillusioned by subsequent revelations of the disparity between his then media image and revelations about his personal life.

KENNEDY V NIXON TV DEBATE 1960

I met some interesting people at that counter. One was a very short gentleman who was a delivery clerk for Stockbrokers J.B.Were &Co. He had been a Royal Australian Navy Engineer Officer during World War II.He stays in my memory on account of his wit. He claimed that his family motto was: "In moments of crisis, absence of body is better than presence of mind."! A married couple of advanced age also stuck in my memory. They insisted on me guessing their age. They looked about ninety, pale and emaciated. I wanted to give them their victory, so I said “I imagine about 70?" No they told me, they were 75! But wait, did I want to know their secret of good health? I had nowhere to go with this, so I had to say “Certainly". Back came their boastful reply: “A dose of Epsom Salts in a pint of warm water EVERY night!"(For the moderns unfamiliar with Epsom Salts , they are a VERY effective laxative and, in a pint of warm water....must be devastating!

The combination of horror, and an all but uncontrollable fit of laughter, must have made my face something to see - but nothing could have penetrated their sense of earnest self righteous satisfaction!

My immediate Boss was a man of about 35. His name was Des Kelly; he was a great fellow, intelligent, efficient and a good friend. Our section was a small group of very mixed abilities and personalities, and Des did very well to make it function as efficiently as it did. I was sad to stumble across the information that he recently (2016) died May he rest in peace.