The second storey was designed by Hugo Durietz in 1885 for James Crawford, who in partnership with Ernest Rohda, conducted his mining, commission agent and share broking business from this building until 1889.

[1] As Gympie evolved from a hastily established mining settlement, the early makeshift structures of the 1860s gradually gave way to more permanent and substantial public and private buildings from the mid 1870s.

The success of deep reef mining from 1875 was reflected in the redevelopment of upper Mary Street during the 1880s and 1890s with substantial commercial buildings such as banks and company secretary and brokers' offices.

[1] In October 1885 the property was purchased for £650 by James Crawford, mining secretary, who commissioned architect Hugo Durietz to make additions to the building.

On 2 March 1889 The Queenslander's Travelling Correspondent described the building of Messrs James Crawford and Co as "most conspicuous, not merely on account of its height, but principally owing to its very elegant and attractive proportions".

Two stories [sic] high with stone front, and tastily ornamented ... the keystones of the main door and window are ornamented with splendidly executed casts of two of Scotland's most popular bards, Burns and Scott; between the lower and upper windows there is a beautifully-worked scroll, the tracery of which interlaces representations of Scotch thistles; and the whole is surmounted by a parapet of bold and attractive designs.

On each side of the parapet the British lion, rampant-while rising from the top are models of the emu and kangaroo with shields showing Australia's coat of arms.

"[1][2] This exterior decoration of the Crawford and Co Building represented several cultural influences – the British Empire (lions), Scotland (thistle), the nascent movement towards federation of the Australian colonies which was gaining momentum during the 1880s (kangaroo and emu) and the literary tastes of the owner (Burns and Scott).

[1] The same Queenslander correspondent also described the interior of the building as well planned with ample room for Messrs J Crawford and Co's large broking business.

[1] James Crawford, mining secretary and sharebroker, arrived in Gympie in 1879 and quickly won the confidence and respect of investors.

The Gympie field passed through its most profitable period from 1901 to 1906 and in 1903 it recorded an output of 146,000 fine ounces (surpassing Mount Morgan that year).

Thomas H Sym whose name, with that of his partner, Jackson, appeared on the parapet of the building was a mining secretary and sharebroker who died during 1925.

An elevated timber framed and clad single storey addition is located at the rear of the building and has access to Reef Street.

[1] The former Crawford and Co Building has an ornamental and eclectic Victorian facade featuring many characteristics of the Renaissance style of architecture including pediments, balustraded parapets and low-relief pilasters symmetrically composed around its vertical axis.

The entrance door and window opening on the ground floor are arched and feature casts of the heads (of Burns and Scott) on the key stones.

A decorative string course with low-relief scrolls interspersed with rosette motifs spans the building between the upper and lower windows.

[1] Window openings on the upper floor containing double hung timber framed sashes are rectangular and crested with pediments supported on decorative scroll brackets.

Deep reveals are created with moulded architraves and Scotch thistle motifs are etched below each window sill and framed by short low relief pilasters.

The parapet features a deep ornamental cornice supported with scroll-shaped brackets and short balusters set between moulded rails.

A centrally placed monumental pediment, which may once have housed a clockface, is decorated with the British lion, scrolls, low relief pilasters, rosettes and features a carved Scotch thistle at its peak.

The first floor level, accessed via a timber staircase, has a similar layout with a small former kitchen and former bedroom at the rear and a larger former living space facing Mary Street.

[1] The basement level has an asphalt floor and the perimeter rock, brick and sandstone foundations are visible to the north, east and west walls.

The rear door is timber paneled with a paint finish and adjacent windows are casements with multi-paned coloured glass.

The former Crawford and Co Building erected during the 1880s is important in demonstrating the evolution of Gympie gold mining, a major contributor to the wealth of Queensland for nearly 60 years from 1867.

[1] Its siting near Commissioners Hill in the vicinity of important government and gold-related buildings also illustrates the growth and evolution of Gympie's development.

The use of skyline decoration – emu and kangaroo statues bearing shields, picks and shovels; an ornamental central pediment featuring lion's heads, acanthus leaves and egg; and dart mouldings upon a balustraded parapet – plus dissimilar and abundant enrichment to each storey including moulded faces on the keystones of the entrance and ground floor window arches is an idiosyncratic stylist combination.