NRS-13058 | Defunct Friendly Society branch closure files

These records contain documents relating to the appointment of trustees, closure, dissolution, and transfer of the defunct branches of nine Friendly Societies.The Friendly Societies included in these records are: the Australian Holy Catholic Guild Friendly Society; Australian Natives Association; Grand Unity of Free Gardeners; Grand United Independent Order of Oddfellows; Independent Order of Oddfellows; Independent Order of Rechabites Salford Unity; Manchester Independent Order of Oddfellows; Protestant Alliance Friendly Society; and, United Ancient Order of Druids. Also included for a number of branches are notices of the establishment of branches, financial statements and membership at the time of closure etc., and a list of file numbers for those files of branches which were closed on the same day.These records were prepared by the Friendly Society and submitted to the Registrar as specified under the Friendly Societies Act of 1899 (Act No. 31, 1899), as amended. The Act required detailed financial reports to ensure that the Society was operating in the interests of members, after numerous instances of actuarial errors left societies unable to meet their obligations. Friendly societies relied on sufficient funds being collected at the branch level to meet the needs of the members of that branch, and that desired outcome of having sufficient funds available to meet contingencies required a great deal of actuarial acumen, provided in part by the office of the Registrar of Friendly Societies and the application of strict reporting regulations.The documents are in file packets. Arrangement of the packets is by control number, in number order. The presence of control numbers on each packet suggest that a register operated in conjunction with these files.