A former bank manager has been jailed for nine years for stealing almost $3 million from the Bendigo Bank at Atherton in far north Queensland.

Colin John Carleton, 56, was arrested at a campsite in the Daintree, north of Cairns, in in July 2010, a fortnight after he admitted to bank investigators he had been defrauding customers.

He pleaded guilty to one charge of stealing as a servant over a 16-year period.

The District Court in Cairns heard he had been with the bank for 19 years and began stealing small amounts from pensioner and term deposit accounts.

This escalated and began feeding a gambling addiction and an almost daily compulsion to buy hardware and other items Carleton did not need or use.

The court heard Carleton hid his offending by sending false bank statements to customers.

His crimes were discovered when he stopped sending the statements.

A psychiatric report said Carleton developed bipolar two disorder about eight years ago and his offending was in sharp contrast to his high standing as an active member of the Atherton community.

Carleton did not offer restitution but apologised for his actions.

He will be eligible for parole after he serves 17 months.

A Bendigo Bank spokesman says the bank has reimbursed Carleton's victims.