The shifting meaning of mutuality and co-operativeness in the credit union movement from 1959 to 1989

By studying the way that a peak industry association used its newsletter to interpret change in the broader social, political and economic context for their member organisations, we find how these texts sought to unite an increasingly fragmented group of organisations as well as to reinforce the role and identity of the association. We observe the connections between discourse and the organisational identity of the New South Wales (NSW) Credit Union Association, formerly the NSW Credit Union League. As a peak industry body they represent the interests of a range of credit unions in NSW. This article examines the newsletters of the peak industry association across four key time periods, from the economic and political stability of the late 1950s through to the economic turbulence and changing regulatory environment of the 1980s. Through historically situated discursive analysis, we highlight the connections between the changing social and political context and the shifting meaning of the credit union's core values of co-operation and mutuality.