Premier is impressed with ANZ’s progress

The Premier John Brumby and ANZ chairman Charles Goode officially opened the ANZ Centre in Docklands on November 6.

In his speech, Mr Brumby remarked at how often he had been in Docklands this year to open or launch new projects.

Mr Brumby recounted that the Bank of Australasia (as the ANZ was then known) opened its first Melbourne branch in a small cottage in 1838.

Mr Brumby read from an historical record that the bank’s manager wrote to reassure his Sydney head office that he and his assistant slept with the cash chest between their beds for safekeeping.

According to Mr Brumby, the manager went on to say: “Progress is being made and accounts opened apace.”

Mr Brumby said the bank’s subsequent 171 years in Melbourne had continued in the same positive vein.  “The pace of progress has not slackened,” he said.

The 10-storey building is Australia’s largest single commercial occupancy and provides a gross floor area of 130,000 square metres, including 83,550 square metres net lettable area of office space, and 1900 square metres of retail.

This represents a floor area equivalent in size to the Rialto in a low rise building. This has been achieved through the creation of a series of floorplates of approximately 2000 square metres interconnected via bridges and walkways.