A POPULAR BANKER

Otago Witness, Issue 4048, 13 October 1931, Page 61

A POPULAR BANKER

ENTERTAINED BY BUSINESS MEN PRESENTATION TO MR ANGEL. Some 50 citizens assembled at the Vedic Lounge on Friday afternoon to bid farewell to Mr Sidney Angel, manager of (be Commercial Bank of Australia. Ltd., in Dunedin for the last 12 years, who will leave to-day on promotion to Hobart. Mr J. R. Fairbairn, who presided, said the large gathering testified to the very high esteem in which their guest was held. During his sojourn in Dunedin he had i-ntei cd into many civic spheres, and had left his mark. In tlie Tramping Club, Naturalists bield Club, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Lawn Tennis Association Mr Angel had done good work and the city could ill afford to lose him. lo the bank’s customers Mr Angel had been 11101? than a banker—as counsellor and friend be had created a spirit of understanding and friendliness which rendered the customers’ lot in these difficult trading times much easier. In presentnur Mr Angel with several handsome f, 1 . : emblematic of New Zealand, Mr rairbairn said they were accompanied with the wish that at no distant date the recipient wouhl be able to come back to Dunedin and renew old and dear friendships with this city and its people. c. Ross, president of the Chami>er of (.ommerce. said he hoped Mr Angel would be able to stimulate interest in Hotiart in the Bluff-Hobart-Melbourne-Dunedm service. The guest of the afternoon was well fitted to champion Dunedin s cause Mr Ross said Mr Angel had been keenly interested in many aspects ff civic life apart from banking, and his successor. Mr Tanner, would firn] Mr Angel a hard •11:111 (o follow

Messrs H. Henderson, M’Carthy, J. H. V\ itker, and Ji. Silverstone spoke of Mr Angel's many qualities and wished him we]] ip Hobart

Jlr J. G. Dykes, manager of the Bank ,>f New Zealand, and Mr Cox, of the Bank of Australasia, said the best of good feeling and cordial relationship bad always existed between them and Mr Angel, who was really the senior bauker in the city from the point of view of length of residence

Mr Angel, on rising to reply, was warmly received. He said it was certainly a difficult matter to be leaving Dunedin after 12 years’ residence. However, a banker’s life seemed to be a nomadic one—friendships were made, and then the call came to move on. Mr Angel said that in bis banking career no more beautiful city than Dunedin had he been stationed in, and he thought it a pity more citizens did not know more of the beauties of the city which were at their door. He thought encroachments on our scenic beauties a matter that required eternal vigilance by those who had the city’s welfare at heart. Mr Angtl said to be a banker in Dunedin was to learn and to know that a customer’s word could be relied on. It was inherent in Dunedin business men to live up to the adage ” their word was their bond.” Concluding, Mr Angel bespoke for his successor, Mr Tanner, the same courtesies and consideration that had always been extended to him.

Mr Tanner was then introduced to the gathering, and was warmly received. MR ANGEL’S CAREER.

Mr Angel was born in Adelaide, and was educated at Norwood Public School and Adelaide Collegiate School. He entered the service of the Commercial Bank at Adelaide in December, IS9O. His earliest impressions are associated with the world-wide depression followed by the banking failures in New Zealand and Australia, which involved the Commercial Bank in 1593. After an interval of a few months the bauk was reconstructed, but, despite the general use of the sovereign for currency, trade conditions were very difficult owing to adverse seasons and general lack of confidence. I he position improved steadily, and when the bank adopted the progressive policy ot opening new branches Mr Angel was appointed manager at Two Wells, South Australia, in 1905, and two years later was transferred to the management of the branch at Norwood, where he re-

mained unti] 1919. In 1912 the bank extended its activities to New Zealand, the Dunedin office being opened in May 1914 under the charge of Mr R. E. B. Franklin, in modest premises at the corner of 1 rinces and Jetty streets. Mr Franklin’s health broke down in 1919. and Mr Angel 1. over the management in September ot that year, so that he has now completed over 12 years’ service here. .^J r ,4 n Kel is an ardent entomologist, and ''’ q th his twin brother established oue ot the largest private collections of South Australian lepidoptera. He was a membei of the Fauna and Flora Protection Lommittee of the Royal Society of South Australia, and upon arrival in Dunedin identified himself with the Otago Institute, on the council of which he has served tor many years as treasurer, and as presi- • lent in 1930. He was a member of the Dunedin Naturalists’ Field Club, serving as president and member of committee, and was also a representative of the Otago Institute on the Dunedin University Museum Council. Physical exercise claimed a generous share of Mr Angel’s attention. The Tramping Club’s outings attracted him, but his chief interest was lawn tennis, of which he was a practised exponent. He played regularly as a member of Kaituna Club, of which he is a past president. He gave valuable assistance for years as a member of the Otago Lawn Tennis Association, of which he was president in 1930. In Freemasonry he was a former master of Emulation Lodge, South Australia. He affiliated with Lodge Otago. No. 844, E.C., and was elected worshipful master in 1927. He also served in various offices in the District Grand Lodge of Otago and Southland, being at present senior grand warden. Mr Angel also holds office in the District Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons and on the Royal Arch Chapter under the English Constitution. Mr Angel will make a tour of inspection of the New Zealand branches prior to leaving for Hobart. The staff of the Hobart branch is about double that of the Dunedin branch.