The end of an era

Sadly, the Naval and Military Club in Little Collins Street, Melbourne, closed earlier this year. Founded in 1881, the club held an extensive collection of war art and military memorabilia that will be sold in Melbourne on July 21-22 through Deutscher and Hackett and Artemis Auctions. Works of art include 23 paintings by Sir Arthur Streeton, who served as official war artist in France in 1918-1919. Among the militaria is a World War II Instrument of Surrender, signed off Rabaul, PNG, on September 6, 1945, (estimate $15,000) and a pair of General Sir Thomas Blamey's military riding boots ($4000). Viewings in Sydney on July 9-12 and Melbourne on July 16-20.

First-home buyers awards

At Canstar Cannex's annual first-home buyer awards, the winner was Westpac for the second time. But according to the researcher, a first-home buyer grant (or other lump-sum gift or inheritance), plus the lowest interest rates since 1968, may still not be enough to get you a mortgage from the big lenders, who are asking for a demonstration of "genuine savings" as well.

Debit, not credit

No surprise that debit cards are taking over the world. MasterCard figures show a 62.5 per cent increase in Debit MasterCard gross dollar volume in the first quarter of the year (Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa region) versus the same period last year. Locally, RBA figures show the average debit card transaction has increased from $85 to $93 (March '08 to March '09). This is still less than the average credit card transaction of $144.