[1] Gympie (initially known as Nashville) was established after the discovery of gold in the Mary River district in October 1867.

The new goldfield turned Queensland into a significant gold producer, contributing much needed finances to the young colony.

[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 influx of money and the resultant yield of gold were 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.

The building designed for this site by architect FDG Stanley is in the neo-classical style befitting an organisation wishing to project stability, reliability and longevity.

The lower portion will be used as a record room, and the upper floor adapted for offices etc, the front being adorned with a handsome portico".

At its meeting on 25 February 1902 the Committee of the Gympie Stock Exchange resolved to offer £1,600 for the AJSB Ltd premises on the following terms: £400 cash, the balance in instalments of £150 pa with 5% added for interest.

At its next meeting on 5 March 1902, the offer having been accepted, the chairman of the committee was empowered to complete the purchase of the AJSB Ltd premises.

This growth in gold- mining shares led to the formation of the Gympie Stock Exchange for their trading.

During its existence it competed with its Brisbane counterpart (also established in July 1884) - providing facilities for the transfer of shares of Gympie mining companies.

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

Despite this closure the Stock Exchange Club continued in this location at 236 Mary Street until 1923 when the premises were sold.

[1] The former bank and stock exchange building continued in the ownership of the Sykes family until 1976 when it was sold to Neilson, Stanton and Parkinson - another firm of solicitors.

The early part of the building stands to the front of the site and a latter addition to the rear is not considered to be of cultural heritage significance.

[1] The building is sheltered by a hipped roof clad with metal sheeting which is screened by a decorative balustraded parapet.

The elevation is composed of three arched openings comprising a central entrance flanked by large double hung timber sash windows.

Walls are lined with plaster and ceilings with fibrous cement sheeting with timber cornice and cover strips.

The manager's office has an early fireplace with a decorated timber mantelpiece and cast iron grate and side cheeks.

Facebrick arched brick lintels are above internal openings which accommodate pairs of timber paneled doors.

The former Australian Joint Stock Bank (AJSB) building (1882)-and the important gold-era precinct of which it is a part-is physical evidence of the evolution of Gympie gold mining, which was a major economic contributor to the wealth of Queensland for nearly 60 years from 1867.

[1] The former AJSB building is important in demonstrating the vital role of financial institutions in the process of wealth creation and distribution on Queensland goldfields when as a bank branch (1882-1902) it converted enormous amounts of gold into cash and later in its role as the Gympie Stock Exchange Offices and Club (1902-circa1922).

It is a rare surviving remnant of one of the four stock exchanges (in Brisbane, Gympie, Charters Towers and Ravenswood) that operated during the 19th century while Queensland was a significant gold-producer.

The former AJSB building has aesthetic significance for its architectural qualities, expressed in the craftsmanship and detailing of the joinery and finishes, and for its streetscape value through its form, scale and design.

[1] Its balanced classical design, often associated with banks, projects the concept of stability that financial institutions of this era sought to convey through their buildings' architecture.