Barnet was commissioned to design this building by magazine publisher, Alexander McKinley & Co., best known for the Melbourne Punch, as a speculative venture including shops and professional chambers, but also with purpose-built artist's studios on the fourth floor at the rear [1] The studios were occupied by such noted practitioners as photographer JW Lindt and the painters John Mather (artist), Charles E. Gordon-Frazer, Leslie Wilkie and, in the 1920s, Alexander Colquhoun.

During the 1890s and later the building was the headquarters of the Austral Salon, a pioneer Victorian club for women dedicated to their academic and artistic development.

The building consists of five storeys and a basement, using plain red brick as the main wall material, with detailing provided in cement render.

He combined finely detailed and complete decorative elements with plain walls and durable massing, working across a variety of styles.

[1] The design used red brick as a main material, a hallmark of the Queen Anne, and one that was characteristic of his work in the 1900s, such as the nearby 1913 Auditorium Building.