[1] The former Australian Bank of Commerce is a substantial masonry building in classical revival style located in the business centre of Charters Towers.

It was built in 1891 as the premises of the Australian Joint Stock Bank to the design of Queensland architect FDG Stanley during the boom years of the gold field.

[1] The Australian Joint Stock Bank was established with the discovery of gold in southern states and opened branches on Queensland goldfields as they were discovered.

It opened a branch on the Broughton goldfield on 23 April 1872, but soon moved to Charters Towers and then to nearby Millchester, where crushing plants, banks and businesses had begun to cluster.

In 1877, when Charters Towers petitioned for incorporation as a municipality, the business area was defined as covering 0.5 miles (0.80 km) in each compass direction from the intersection of Gill and Mosman Streets.

In 1886, a display featuring ore samples from the Charters Towers mines was set up at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition in London.

The excellent long-term prospects of the field and the input of capital made the community affluent and encouraged local businesses to replace their timber buildings with more substantial brick structures in the 1880s and 90s.

Falling real estate values and large vacant buildings provided an opportunity for a number of private schools to establish themselves, which eventually gave new economic life to Charters Towers as an educational centre.

This is a large, modern theatre and cinema complex which has been built to the rear of the building and is linked to it by a roof and courtyard area, though remaining essentially separate from it.

[1] The former Australian Bank of Commerce is a two-storey classical revival building constructed of rendered brick with a corrugated iron roof concealed by a balustraded parapet.

The street elevation is symmetrical and has a colonnade of banded Doric columns at ground level and one of Corinthian order above, surmounted by a triangular pediment with an ornate tympanum.

A high quality of detail is evident in the building in such features as plaster mouldings, cedar joinery and encaustic tiles to the banking chamber, stair lobby and entrance.

Charters Towers, as an extraordinarily rich goldfield, made a major contribution to the economy of Queensland and to the development of the North in the late 19th century.

These include the Royal Hotel, the Stock Exchange Arcade and the former Queensland National Bank, also designed by Stanley, and are key components of the character of the city centre.

[1] The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history.

Stanley, who made a significant contribution to the development of the built environment in Queensland, both as the Colonial Architect and in private practice.