Before Australia had a central bank and government-issued banknotes were commonplace – businesses simply created their own money.
Among the most fascinating items in the John McCullagh Collection is a remarkable survivor from this chaotic period of colonial history: a complete printer’s sample booklet produced for the Lachlan & Waterloo Mills Company of Sydney.
Containing sixteen different note designs ranging from two shillings and sixpence through to ten pounds, the booklet is believed to be unique.
More importantly, it offers a rare glimpse into how commerce functioned in colonial Australia when official currency was in desperately short supply.
When Limited Supply and Growing Demand Leads to Improvisation
One of the greatest challenges facing early New South Wales was a lack of currency.
Coins arrived sporadically from Britain and were often hoarded, exported, or simply insufficient to support a growing colony. Businesses and settlers were forced to improvise.
This often meant transacting in:
- Foreign coinage
- Promissory notes
- Barter
- Rum and spirits
- Privately issued paper money
As trade expanded during the early nineteenth century, the need for reliable circulating currency became increasingly urgent.
The result was one of the most fascinating periods in Australian monetary history, where private businesses effectively stepped in to perform the role of banks.
The Lachlan & Waterloo Mills Company
Founded in Sydney during the 1820s, the Lachlan & Waterloo Mills Company was operated by several prominent colonial figures, including Daniel Cooper and Solomon Levey.
The company ran a substantial flour milling and warehousing operation and became an important commercial enterprise within the colony.
Like many businesses of the period, it faced a practical problem – there was not enough official money available to support everyday trade.
The solution was to issue its own promissory notes.
These notes circulated within the community and were accepted because people trusted the company behind them.
In effect, reputation became currency.
A Unique Survivor
What makes the McCullagh Collection example so remarkable is that it is not simply a surviving note.
It is an entire printer’s sample booklet.
Bound in maroon leatherette with gold lettering reading “Bank Notes”, the volume contains sixteen different denominations and designs, ranging from small-value notes through to substantial ten-pound issues.
Many examples of early colonial notes survive only as isolated pieces. This booklet reveals the complete intended series.
It is the closest you can get to looking over the printer’s shoulder nearly 200 years ago.
As Auction No. 159 approaches, the McCullagh Collection continues to reveal why it is regarded as one of the most important numismatic holdings ever brought to market in Australia. Not simply for its rarity, but for the stories embedded within every piece.
Don’t miss a moment – CLICK HERE TO GET NOTIFIED when the catalogue and pre-bidding becomes available.
