Summary
Scrip number 851 for one hundred £5 shares issued to William Williams by The Centennial Land Bank Limited, Melbourne, on 19 July 1888. The shares are numbered 29031 to 29130.
The scrip features vignettes of an Aboriginal person aiming a spear at a kangaroo and the Exhibition Building in Carlton Gardens, site of the 1888 Melbourne Centennial International Exhibition which was held to celebrate the centenary of white settlement.
The Centennial Land Bank was floated in 1888 by Frederick Illingworth and JE Pounds. In its first year of operation, the Centennial Land Bank looked like a safe and profitable company to invest in; the 'first issue of shares yielded a £10,000 premium...A dividend of 10 per cent was paid, plus a bonus of 20 per cent.' (Cannon, 182) However the success was short lived. Illingworth and Pound had borrowed heavily from other banks to pay for their shares and personal land holdings. When land prices fell in 1889-1890, they were unable to pay their debts. Illingworth absconded to Perth in Western Australia: only £600 was 'realized to meet Illingworth's debts of nearly £300,000' (Cannon, 184). Pound's declared bankruptcy in 1891; his debts of £140,000 were paid at a halfpenny in the pound. The bank had closed by 1892.
Physical Description
Printed in black ink on cream stock, with handwritten text in black ink. Decorative cartouche on left hand side. Broker's stamp top right side. Two shield-shaped illustrations with indigenous hunting scene and Royal Exhibition Building.
More Information
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Collection Names
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Collecting Areas
Numismatics & Philately, Public Life & Institutions, Royal Exhibition Building
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Acquisition Information
Purchase
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Date Issued
1888 AD
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Issued By
The Centennial Land Bank Limited, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 19 Jul 1888
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Issued To
William Williams, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 19 Jul 1888
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Inscriptions
Printed on obverse: The Centennial Land Bank Limited./ INCORPORATED UNDER THE COMPANIES STATUTE 1864./ CAPITAL £1,000,000 IN 200,000 SHARES OF £5. EACH./ This is to Certify that.../ of...is the Registered holder of.../ Shares in the abovenamed Company numbered.../ subject to the Articles of Association and that up to this day there has/ been paid on each of such shares the sum of.../ The Seal of the Company was hereto affixed by order of/ the Board this...day of...1888 Overprinted in red: FIRST ISSUE
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Material
Paper
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Classification
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Category
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Discipline
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Type of item
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Overall Dimensions
235 mm (Width), 158 mm (Height)
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References
Cannon, Michael. 1995. 'Frederick Illingworth and the Centennial Bank' in "The Land Boomers", Melbourne University Press: 182-184.
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Keywords
Aboriginal Depictions, Banking, Exhibitions: Melbourne International Centennial, 1888-1889, Indigenous Peoples, Royal Exhibition Building