Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Bank of Australia robbery 1828

Australia's first bank robbery which occurred in The Bank of Australia in Underwood's Building on lower George Street on the evening of Sunday 14 September 1828 after the thieves had spent several weeks tunnelling into the vault underneath the bank. The thieves were not identified and charged until 1831, and much of the loot was never recovered.

-33.862322985287, 151.20773024752

Milestone
Date of event
14 Sep 1828
Type

Robbing the Bank: Australia’s First Bank Robbery

CC BY-SA 2.0
,
2017

Sydney’s, and Australia’s, first bank robbery took place on 14 September 1828 when the Bank of Australia strongroom was breached by thieves entering through a sewer drain and stealing £14,000 mostly in notes but also some gold and silver coins. Most of this was never recovered.