The Credit Union Supply Centre may seem like a mundane topic for inquiry but actually it was an innovative system and it embodied the principles and practices that have made financial mutuals successful.
The New South Wales Credit Union League (later Credit Union Association of New South Wales) established a Supply Depot in 1962. It arranged for the distribution of stationary as well as promotional and display material much of which emanated from CUNA international in America. The various credit unions in NSW and soon the entire country began adapting this material for their own purposes.
The Supply Depot morphed into the Credit Union Supply Centre which was run by the Credit Union Association of New South Wales well into the 1980s. In 1981, the Credit Union Supply Centre had 490 clients around Australia, supplying them with stationary and promotional materials to a sophisticated standard for the time.
For example, in the 1980s the Centre hired freelance copy writers and artists to develop material and ideas that were hashed out at the Credit Union Marketing Forum. Some of the products developed included custom engraved pens and glassware, a consumer credit resource kit, a family allowance promotion and a payroll deduction campaign.
Oleg Rozemeta is a legend of the Australian credit union movement. His CV includes a Directorship with Resources Credit Union and work with the Credit Union Association of New South Wales and the Credit Union Supply Centre.
He was interviewed for the December 1981 edition of Australian Credit Union Magazine where he advocated persuasively for the work of the Credit Union Supply Centre:
“I’ve always been an admirer of credit unions. The idea of people pooling their resources to help each other appeals greatly. I could see that the Credit Union Supply Centre was run on the same lines. It’s a strong going concern and I know that we can effectively build it up to service the whole Credit Union Movement better because we’re exclusively for the credit unions …
There are still too many credit unions out there reinventing the wheel. The number of times I’ve seen the same promotional idea, using a little different artwork and almost identical copy makes me shudder. All that money wasted which could have been used to produce new promotional packages to benefit all credit unions”, said Oleg.
At the time of the interview with Oleg, Alex Henderson, Leonie Ryan, Peter Rosa and Peter Cowie also worked for the Credit Union Supply Centre.
