October 1974, in the midst of Whitlam's ill-fated government, all of Australia's banks got together to decide what public needed more than a 10.38% home loan rate (up from 5.88% five years earlier), was their own credit card.And thus Bankcard was born.
Featuring the stylish but now decidedly retro lowercase san-serif font, Bankcard's sporty stripes caught the imagination and introduced thousands of Australians to the joys of monthly credit card statements.
But alas, like many an Australian icon, it got swamped by the trendy players from overseas - Visa, MasterCard, American Express - and in 2006 Bankcard was no more.
Bankcard still has a web site, but it's a sad and rather perfunctory thing now.
Also another interesting artifact which helps date this matchbook to between late 1974 and 1981, is the National Bank logo which disappeared when the National merged with the Commercial Banking Company to become the National Australia Bank, today more popularly known as the 'Nab'.
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