In 1928 plans were prepared by the Commonwealth Department of Works and Railways for a substantial, two-storeyed "Spanish style" brick building, with ground floor banking chamber and upstairs manager's residence.

Entrance to the new branch was through a small colonnade leading to a centrally located doorway into the banking chamber on the ground floor.

The manager's office was located at the front, and the main counter, which housed three teller boxes, ran across the width of the banking chamber.

[1] During the late 1940s and 1950s, the Commonwealth Bank expanded its activities Australia-wide, opening hundreds of branches and agencies to cater for the increase and spread of population accompanying Australia's great post-war migrant influx, and reflecting the buoyant national economy of the 1950s.

In June 1970 a vacant site in Goondoon Street, directly opposite the 1928-29 building, was purchased, and larger bank offices were erected there in 1971-72.

It is one of Gladstone's more substantial interwar commercial buildings, and is designed in a restrained Mediterranean style, with a colonnaded entry porch, arched windows, and a terracotta tiled roof.

It occupies approximately half of the block, with a bitumen carpark at the rear, accessed via a driveway off Goondoon Street along the north side of the building.

There are several mature trees along the perimeter of the back yard, possibly related to the period of occupation of the first floor of the building as a bank manager's residence.

[1] The principal facade of the building facing Goondoon Street has a central recessed entrance porch which leads to the banking chamber.

[1] The ground floor, which remains in use as a banking chamber, has undergone refurbishment - including the insertion of a false ceiling and air conditioning ducting.

The timber counter and teller boxes have been removed, but the fine entrance, manager's office and rear ancillary rooms remain, and the original function of this space can be understood.

[1] The first floor is reached via an internal and original timber staircase at the northwest corner of the building, which now is accessed only from the front street.

As a group, these buildings contributed significantly to the development of a 20th century image for Gladstone, and remain important public landmarks.

The place is significant for its strong association with the work of the Commonwealth Bank in Gladstone over four decades (1929-1972), during which time the town sustained the deepest economic depression of the 20th century, survived the worst global conflict of the 20th century, and finally, entered the greatest period of prosperity since the founding of Gladstone in 1853-54.