Lancefield Old Bank

History of the Bank
The bank was designed by Architects Vahland and Getzschman of Bendigo. Built by Donald McKay, circa 1866 for the Commercial Bank of Australia, it is claimed to be the first branch opened outside of Melbourne. Lancefield was a stopping point for horses en route to the Bendigo goldfields.

On the bluestone step at the external entrance to the old banking chamber is a broad arrow cut into the stone which is said to mark the geographical centre of the State of Victoria.

On 15 August 1879 an armed robbery took place with the men claiming to be "The Kelly Gang". All perpetrators were later apprehended in Bendigo and tried at the local Lancefield Courthouse.

After the merger of Commercial Bank of Australia and the Bank of NSW in 1984, the bank building was labelled "Westpac" and continued banking business until the early 1990's.

The bank building was auctioned by Westpac in 1994 and purchased by John Caddy.

Current Owners
Robert and Frances purchased the building in 1996 after it was advertised for private sale just once in The Age. They have toiled long and hard to restore and renovate the grand old building to its former glory and new identity. Whilst the work is never complete, the exterior was painted in the Summer of 2009/2010 and the current appearance emerged after years of people saying "never judge a book by its cover"!