On 13th August, 1958, Ron Spain, Honorary Secretary of the NSW Electricity Commission Employees’ Association, convened a meeting of colleagues at Pyrmont Power Station in order to form a credit union. They succeeded in forming NSW Electricity Commission Employees Savings and Loan Co-operative (it became Electricity Commission Employees Credit Union in 1964).
Member number 1 and foundation President was Harry Head with Maurie Bambury taking on the role of Secretary. The rest of the board was made up of Imants Kursin as Treasurer, Fred Holland, Frank Turner, Helen Small, Colin Moore, Harold Collins and Lawrie Small.
In the early 1990’s oral historian Richard Raxworthy produced a short draft of a history of Power Credit Union which is in our collection. He writes that foundation President Harry Head was known as a “soft touch” for a loan.
Furthermore, Raxworthy wrote:
“Harry Head strongly believed in credit unions and their ability to help people to take control of their lives. Harry had been through the mill and had straightened himself out with the aid of a credit union. The foundation Secretary, Maurie Bambury, got his experience under the tutelage of Father John Gallagher of the Australian Antigonish Association. Maurie went to school with Peter Cox, foundation Chairman of Motor Transport Credit Union and served on the Lidcombe Board with Dermot Ryan, foundation Chairman of Sydney Credit Union”.
An interesting aspect of the early days of the credit union was that the NSW Electricity Commission initially refused to grant payroll deductions to members of the credit union, “until forced to in 1962, by political pressure exerted through ALP Minister Pat Hills, at the instigation of Jack Armstrong, credit union Director and representative at St Peter’s Store”, wrote Raxworthy.
As early as 1966, the CU looked to expand by bringing in credit unions formed by other NSW power station employees. The employee credit unions of the power stations at Tallawarra and Wangi joined in 1968.
In 1991, the name was changed to Power Credit Union and in 2008 it merged with Maritime Workers of Australia Credit Union, forming Maritime, Mining and Power Credit Union.
