[1] The former Royal Bank of Queensland building at Gympie, located at 199 Mary Street, was designed by architect Hugh Durietz in 1891 and built in 1892.

The new goldfield turned Queensland into a significant gold producer and contributed 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.

[1] The influx of money and the resultant yield of gold at Gympie 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.

Several fires - in 1877, 1881 and 1891 - razed the earlier timber buildings in upper Mary Street and accelerated this transformation.

The last of the new buildings erected was the Royal Bank of Queensland, located adjacent to the Gympie Times office.

After finalisation of his insolvency case in December 1867 he joined the rush to the Gympie goldfield where he became involved in many innovative business enterprises and joined community committees including those of the School of Arts; hospital; Mutual Improvement Association; Agricultural, Mining and Pastoral Society; and the Gympie Primary School.

[1] By 1871 Durietz had begun his practise as an architect in Gympie and for more than 30 years he was commissioned by institutions on whose committees he served, many religious denominations and by business leaders and professionals, often on an ongoing basis.

[1] The former Royal Bank of Queensland is an imposing single-storey rendered masonry building with a pedimented temple front standing prominently to upper Mary Street in Gympie's central business area.

[1] The rendered masonry front fence forms a plinth to the building which is set back from the property boundary and raised above street level.

The compact front elevation is dominated by a projecting pedimented portico which is framed by fluted corner pilasters and shelters a set of concrete stairs and a landing.

The front elevation is defined by fluted corner pilasters and composed of three arched openings notable for their severe rendered rusticated surrounds.

The flanking arched openings house timber framed double hung sash windows with masonry sills.

The parapet wall on the northern elevation rises to follow the gabled roof shape and is capped with a simple masonry mould.

An early fireplace, located in the manager's office, is framed with a simple timber mantelpiece and has a cast iron grate and side cheeks with a masonry hearth.

[1] Internal openings are generous in height and house fine timber-paneled doors with tall glazed pivoting fanlights.

The Royal Bank, built during the third stage of Gympie mining, symbolised the wealth and permanence of the town.

[1] The former Royal Bank building is important in demonstrating the vital role of financial institutions in the process of wealth creation and distribution on Queensland goldfields as it converted enormous amounts of gold into cash.

The former Royal Bank 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.

This important and substantially intact gold-era precinct comprises a harmonious streetscape of late Victorian commercial buildings dating from the 1880s and 1890s.

[1] The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history.

The former Royal Bank building is a fine example of the work of architect Hugo Durietz who dominated Gympie architecture between 1871 and at least 1902 and was a highly regarded community leader.

Other extant significant buildings designed by Durietz, include the Surface Hill Wesleyan Church, School of Arts, the organ loft of the St Patricks Church and the upper floor and facade of the Crawford & Co Building at 216 Mary Street, Gympie.