Sir Robert Askin
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Former Premier Bob Askin worked at the famous old Rural Bank building for many years where he also met his future wife. He attended Sydney Technical High School where he shared classrooms with future aviator, Sir Charles Kingsford Smith before serving in World War II.
Askin had a run-in with SP bookmaker and footy star Jack Gibson in 1960 due to keen punter, Askin, over money owed.
From Tony Stephens' Sydney Morning Herald in 2008:
"When Kevin Humphreys, the NSW Rugby League executive chairman, met trouble after taking money from Balmain Leagues Club, Gibson lent him $32,000 to settle the debt, on the condition that Humphreys not gamble again. When he did, Gibson spoke to ABC TV's Four Corners, and the resulting scandal and a royal commission led to Humphreys's resignation."
The Rural Bank was demolished in 1983.
