At the present time—1888—it may appear almost impossible to many that a bank agency should have been in a tent; that bankers should have, often on foot, gone long distances to purchase gold from small storekeepers, the said gold often being carried by them on their backs, till the security (?) of some rough bush shanty had been reached; that instead of cedar counters, massive ledgers, impregnable strong-rooms, and all the appliances of modern banking, a gin case to write on, a note-book or piece of wrapping paper, and a saddle-bag should then have been considered quite the correct thing; yet that such was often the case is a fact.
These experiences will doubtless modify considerably the prevalent opinion that easy times are, or have been, the lot of bank officials.
I am indebted to my revered father, the late Dr. Preshaw, of Castlemaine, Victoria, for particulars contained in the opening chapters. All other authorities cited—and they are many—are duly acknowledged.
