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    Former State Bank, Seddon 1970s

    Date:

    Across the street from Seddon Station sits the former State Savings Bank of Victoria, Seddon Branch. It was built around 1925, replacing an earlier State Bank on Charles Street.

     John Dawson began working at the State Bank of Victoria in Seddon in 1969. One afternoon in the early 1970s, John was behind the counter when two armed men jumped the counter and demanded money. There were no security screens or electronic alarms in those days, however a new counter-theft measure was exploding dye capsules, and this was one of the first times this was used. The holdup was particularly frightening as the manager chased the thieves, exchanging gunfire with the robbers, leaving people ducking for cover. The dye exploded 5 minutes after the bandits fled, covering the money, the inside of the getaway car and the two bandits with green dye. While no green men were ever found, reports of green notes were reported from Newport to Footscray.

    From 1990 until 2014, the building was owned by the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes and was used as a meeting space and conference hall. In 2014 it was sold as, and is currently, a home. 

    THEN & NOW
    THEN & NOW
    Column by Mark McDonald. If you like historical Then and Now photos of the west, follow @historicprints.com.au

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