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FORMER BANK OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Location 27 VIEW STREET BENDIGO, GREATER BENDIGO CITY File Number 13/002058 Level Registered

[1/4] former bank of nsw view street [2/4] former bank of nsw view street [3/4] former bank of nsw view street [4/4] H0403 former bank of nsw view

Statement of Significance

The View Street premises of the bank of New South Wales were erected in 1866-67. The building was designed by Leonard Terry, and the builders were Langridge and Whitney. Leonard Terry, one of Victoria's leading architects of the time executed almost all of the bank's new work in the state between 1860 and 1868. Apart from the Bendigo branch, he also designed the Castlemaine, Geelong, Ballarat, Daylesford, Chiltern and Eaglehawk premises of the Bank of New South Wales. In 1879, while in partnership with Percy Oakden the firm was also responsible for the design of the Mansfield branch. The design of the Bendigo branch is a simple and elegant example of the Italianate style. The rendered finely detailed and finely proportioned facade, which was originally symmetrical employs arched door and window openings at the ground level while the upper level windows are square headed. A typological analysis of banks broadly falling into the "conservative classicism" category has revealed that the ground floor articulation of the subject building is unique in Victoria. The gold smelting house which was an integral part of the original gold buying office still stands behind the bank. Although the smelting equipment has been removed, the structure is still intact and serves as a link with Bendigo's gold mining past. As is the case with most banking premises, the interior has undergone considerable alterations and defacement, and at present only minor fragments of the original finishes and fittings remain.