[1] The Heritage Hotel is situated immediately opposite the wharves of the Fitzroy River, in the heart of Rockhampton's premier commercial district.

From the 1850s, and especially in the latter part of the 19th century, the area around Quay Street attracted solid development, impressive new construction, which was fostered by the commercial activity the wharves brought to the quayside.

[1] The substantial nature of development around the Quay Street precinct was also influenced by the immense wealth injected into Rockhampton from the Mount Morgan Gold Mine, discovered in 1882.

Mount Morgan was the single richest gold mine in the world and its economic impact on the port city of Rockhampton was expressed through the confident and stylistic character of its principal business district on Quay Street.

The erection of prestigious buildings, such as the Commercial Hotel and Chambers, reflected the notion of rivalry with the capital of Brisbane and was held as a great boon to the cause of separation.

Six to ten of them were located in the historic precinct of Quay Street, and approximately 30 of varying types stood within a three-block radius of the Commercial Hotel.

Wilson was born in Banffshire in Scotland, emigrated to Australia shortly before 1854 and began his architectural career in Victoria before moving to Rockhampton and practicing there for about 35 years.

[1] The fine handcrafted cedar doors and window sashes fitted into the former Commercial Hotel were completed by the joinery firm founded by Walter Adam Lawson.

An article published in a local newspaper The Record on the day of the Hotel's opening describes a promenade flat on the top of the building that was reached by staircase and provided a view of Rockhampton and environs.

Also, a 1906 photograph of the hotel shows there was a vaulted gable on the William Street footpath canopy that marked the point of entry to the accommodation levels above.

[1] The hotel closed on 11 March 2015 after the business went into receivership, the owners citing the impact of drought, downturns in the coal industry and Cyclone Marcia as reasons for its demise.

[6] The Heritage Hotel is located on the prominent corner of Quay and William Streets in the heart of Rockhampton's Central Business District.

Quay Street, overlooking the Fitzroy River, was recognised as a streetscape of historical significance in the Australian Heritage Commission's Register of the National Estate.

The Queensland Heritage Register features numerous other listings for this area, including the former Cahill Stores and the Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company Building, both of which are adjacent to the hotel to the south-east.

Running along the short, south- western edge of the allotment is Quay Lane, which forms part of a system of such laneways inhabiting the city centre's orthogonal grid and servicing its primary streets.

A two-storey rectangle of building occupies the rear, south-west corner of the 809-square-metre (8,710 sq ft) allotment and houses the hotel's service areas.

The long corridors into which the accommodation rooms open, are lined on the ceiling and walls with tongue and groove timber boards approximately 10 centimetres (3.9 in) wide.

The Heritage Tavern is important in illustrating the evolution of Queensland's history because it provides evidence of the confidence in the future of Rockhampton, which the city's commercial interests expressed in the late 19th century.

The quality and luxury of hostelry services provided by the Commercial Hotel supported the view that Rockhampton was an important city financially and regionally, a key argument in the movement for secession at the time.

The intricate ironwork balustrading, essentially intact today, establishes the building as a notable example of the use of iron filigree in hotel architecture.