The Monetary Union of Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom – Its Operation, Fragmentation and Break-up

Abstract This article examines the monetary arrangements between Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom from the 1820s to the 1930s. It is argued that the three countries formed a monetary union for most of this period. A new analysis of inland and London exchange rates demonstrates that the union achieved a high degree of uniformity and stability, and that an international branch network of competing, private banks could successfully integrate vastly different geographic and economic areas. It is shown that the union’s break-up in the 1930s was the result of a political decision to create separate and devalued Australian and New Zealand currencies in order to mitigate some of the impacts of the Great Depression. International lending of last resort only played a limited role and helped to fix exchanges between the newly separated currencies after 1932.