And so, on 9 July 1858, the Bendigo Land and Building Society was established, with 150 or so individuals subscribing 5 pounds each in capital. This society, eventually re constituted as a permanent building society became, in combination with some other entities, the nucleus of the entity whose anniversary we celebrate today.
It grew with its community and by merger and acquisition with other building societies and financial institutions, both locally and further afield. In 1995, then Australia’s oldest and Victoria’s largest building society, it took a banking licence and developed further into the institution that we know today.