June 26, 2013
Nanango’s new Bendigo Community Bank Branch officially opened its doors to the public on Tuesday morning … the culmination of nearly five years of planning and hard work by local community members.
A volunteer committee began investigating the idea of establishing a community bank branch after the National Australia Bank closed its Nanango branch in 2008, saying it was no longer viable.
In October last year, the committee launched a prospectus and the hunt for shareholders began.
Nanango is the third Community Bank branch that has been established by South Burnett Community Enterprises (SBCE) in the region.
The new branch was officially opened by Bendigo bank representative Russell Jenkins (Executive Customer and Community), who also did the honours when the Yarraman and Blackbutt branches opened in 2005 and 2009 respectively
Nanango residents turned up to watch the spectacle, which included dignitaries arriving by horse and carriage, a parade by the Light Horse re-enactment troop, a live broadcast by Wild Horse FM and a sausage sizzle.
SES volunteers directed traffic to protect the crowd who spilled out from the footpath into Fitzroy and Drayton streets.
SBCE Chairman Noel Strohfeld said the Nanango bank was one of the very few in Australia that had been fully funded before it opened.
He said the fact they they had been able to open three banks in just eight years was “because we have a very active Board and an unbelievable staff”.
He said 1 per cent of all of Bendigo’s community banks were now located within a short drive, “something we can all be very, very proud of”.
South Burnett Mayor Wayne Kratzmann said it was a wonderful day, not just for Nanango but for the whole South Burnett area.
He noted that whenever he drove around Australia, he always spotted the Bendigo Community Banks. And he had noticed something: “Where the Bendigo Banks are the communities are better”.
Mr Jenkins, who travelled from Victoria for the opening, said the Yarraman and Blackbutt branches had put $500,000 back into local community-based ventures since they began.
And across Australia, Bendigo Community Bank had just passed the $100 million mark for community contributions.
The Nanango Community Bank branch will be open from 9:00am-5:00pm, Monday to Friday.
NB. Bendigo and Nanango have a lot in common … they are both colonial gold rush towns with a long history. On Tuesday they also had something else in common … the temperature. More than one guest chided the Bendigo representatives for bringing Victoria’s weather to sunny Queensland.
Related articles:
- Nanango Gets Second Community Bank
- Last Chance To Buy Shares
- Deadline Looms Again For Bank
- Update On Bank Project
- Bank Extends Share Offer
- Community Bank Deadline Nears
- Community Bank Launches Prospectus
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
