Australian Unity
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2016}}
{{Use Australian English|date=November 2016}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Australian Unity
| logo = 200px
| type = Mutual
| industry = {{ubl|Health|Wealth|Care}}
| predecessors = Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows (MUIOOF), Australian Natives' Association (ANA)
| founded = {{Start date and age|1840|12|07|df=y}} in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| founders = {{ubl|Thomas Strode|Augustus Greeves|John Marzagor|John Shepperd|William Johnson Sugden}}
| hq_location_city = Melbourne
| hq_location_country = Australia
| area_served = Australia
| products = {{ubl|Aged care|Banking|Financial services|Home care|Life insurance|NDIS provider|Private health insurance|Retirement communities}}
| num_employees = 7,500
| num_employees_year = 2018
| website = {{URL|www.australianunity.com.au}}
}}
Australian Unity is an Australian mutual company having its origins in the friendly societies movement. In 2012, Big Sky was merged with Australian Unity to become the banking arm of the company.
History
It was formed as the Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows (MUIOOF) in Melbourne, Victoria, on 7 December 1840 by eight men including Thomas Strode, publisher of the Port Phillip Gazette and Augustus Greeves, inspired by Independent Order of Oddfellows Manchester Unity.
In 1993, Manchester Unity merged with the Australian Natives' Association to form Australian Unity. Later mergers occurred with Grand United Friendly Society in 2005, Lifeplan Australia Friendly Society in 2009, and Big Sky Credit Union in 2012.{{Citation | author1=McDermott, Alex | title=Of no personal influence : how people of common enterprise unexpectedly shaped Australia | publication-date=2015 | publisher= Australian Unity |location= South Melbourne, Victoria | isbn=978-0-646-93093-0 |url= http://asp-au.secure-zone.net/v2/index.jsp?id=861/949/6704& |language=en}} {{dead link|date=April 2018}} Australian Unity has about 8,500 employees across healthcare, insurance and banking (in the guise of Big Sky Credit Union) divisions.{{cite web |url= https://www.australianunity.com.au/about-us/our-history |title= A proud history dating back to 1840 |publisher= Australian Unity |accessdate= 9 April 2018 }}
In 2012, Big Sky merged with Australian Unity to become the banking arm of Australian Unity.{{Cite web|url=http://www.australianunityinvestments.com.au/ResourceCentre/MediaReleases/Pages/BigSky_gets_bigger.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317085351/http://www.australianunityinvestments.com.au/ResourceCentre/MediaReleases/Pages/BigSky_gets_bigger.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=2015-03-17|title=Big Sky gets bigger|date=2015-03-17|access-date=2018-09-12}}{{cite news |url=http://www.financialstandard.com.au/news/view/12707858/ |title=Big Sky members vote in favour of Australian Unity deal |date=24 February 2012 |publisher=Financial Standards}} Ownership of Big Sky Credit Union Limited was transferred to Australian Unity Limited's subsidiary Lifeplan Australia Building Society Limited and renamed Big Sky Building Society Limited. Members of Big Sky Credit Union became members of Australian Unity.{{cite news|url=http://www.australianbankingfinance.com/banking/big-sky-gets-bigger/ |title=Big Sky gets bigger |date=2 March 2012 |publisher=Australian Banking and Finance |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304032445/http://www.australianbankingfinance.com/banking/big-sky-gets-bigger/ |archivedate=4 March 2016 |df=dmy }}{{cite web |url= http://www.professionalplanner.com.au/cut-and-paste/2016/10/25/australian-unity-appoints-institutional-business-development-manager-50578/ |title= Australian Unity appoints institutional business development manager |date= 25 October 2016 |publisher= www.professionalplanner.com.au }}
Manchester Unity Building
The company commissioned the Manchester Unity Building, a neo-Gothic Art Deco skyscraper, and one of the most well-known and recognisable buildings in Melbourne, Australia, in 1928. The building was constructed in 1932.{{cite web |url= http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/203021717?searchTerm=manchester%20unity%20building%20escalator&searchLimits= |title= Manchester Unity I.O.O.F. : A £200,000 Structure |via=Trove |publisher=The Age |page= 11 |date= 27 July 1931 |accessdate=9 April 2018}}{{cite news |title=Manchester Unity Building - A Notable Enterprise |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205486959 |newspaper=The Age |location=Melbourne, Vic. |date=1 September 1932 |accessdate= 9 April 2018 |page=6 |via= National Library of Australia}}
Another Melbourne building, formerly owned by Manchester Unity Oddfellows, at 335–347 Swanston Street was compulsorily acquired by the Commonwealth government in 1947.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206039859 |title=Manchester Unity Building - Acquisition Described as "Unjust". |newspaper=The Age |location=Melbourne, Vic. |date=23 August 1947 |accessdate= 9 April 2018 |page=5 |via= National Library of Australia}}{{cite web |title=Former Manchester Unity Oddfellows Building |url=https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/hdp.au.prod.app.com-participate.files/2315/9494/6755/PROPERTY_109311_335TO347_SWANSTON_ST.pdf |website=Hoddle Grid Heritage Review |access-date=2021-12-28}} The building, constructed in 1940–41, sits opposite the State Library of Victoria, adjacent to the Melbourne Central shopping centre.
Predecessors and previous incarnations
;* Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows (MUIOOF)
{{main|Independent Order of Oddfellows Manchester Unity#Australian Lodge (1849–1993)}}
;* Australian Natives' Association
{{main|Australian Natives' Association}}
;* Grand United Friendly Society
{{main|Grand United Order of Oddfellows}}
- Grand United Order of Oddfellows Friendly Society (GUOOFS)
;* Lifeplan Australia Friendly Society
;* Big Sky Credit Union
{{main|Big Sky Credit Union}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}{{Banking in Australia}}
Category:Medical and health organisations based in Australia
Category:Financial services companies of Australia
Category:Insurance in Australia
Category:Health insurance in Australia
Category:Organizations established in 1840
Category:Financial services companies established in 1993