Savings Bank of South Australia

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The Savings Bank of South Australia was founded in 1848, trading from a single room in Gawler Place, Adelaide. In 1984 it merged with the State Bank of South Australia, with the merged entity taking the latter name. The Bank of South Australia (also known as BankSA) is now a division and a trading name of St George Bank.

[edit] History

The Savings Bank of South Australia first opened on March 11, 1848 with a single employee, trading from a room provided rent-free. That day it took its first deposit, of 29 pounds, from an Afghan shepherd. A month later it made its first loan, of 500 pounds, to John Colton. Colton became a successful businessman and later politician, and in 1875 was appointed to the bank's board of trustees.