50 Pounds Bank of Australasia

The Bank of Australasia was a British-chartered institution, incorporated by Royal Charter in 1835 and headquartered in London throughout its life — which is why Perkins, Bacon printing this note in London was an entirely natural arrangement, not an outsourcing decision. The bank operated branches across the Australian colonies and later states, but its ownership and governance remained firmly in the City.

Fifty-pound notes at this level saw almost no retail handling. They moved between merchants, squatters, and banking houses — the kind of circulation that leaves little wear but sometimes produces interesting endorsement stamps on the reverse.