The chief post office was an imposing structure, with a clock tower added in 1913 as a memorial to the former prime minister and West Coast personality Richard Seddon.

[2][3] The borough council approved an NZ£8,000 loan towards the construction, professional fees, and the purchase of an adjacent section.

[6] By December 1938, the previous council offices on the corner of Palmerston and Lyndhurst streets had been demolished and the site cleared for foundation work.

The new council chambers were built in reinforced concrete, with interior work in rimu and terrazzo floors.

Buller District Council vacated the Clock Tower Chambers soon after the building had been registered by the Historic Places Trust.