Designed for a prominent corner site by the Architectural Branch of the Queensland Department of Works, it is a substantial two-storeyed masonry edifice.

[1] In 1908, the Technical College committee in Townsville erected a new building on the School of Arts site, on the corner of Stanley and Walker Streets.

The government was slow to respond and only after concerted lobbying by committee members was the construction of a Technical College in Townsville approved.

[1] An allotment on the opposite corner of Stanley and Walker Streets was resumed in 1917 under the Public Works Land Resumption Act of 1906.

The building was of two storeys: the ground floor comprised vestibule, office, classrooms for applied mechanics, drawing, science, book keeping, shorthand and typing and the first floor comprised library, teachers room, classrooms for mathematics, art, millinery and dressmaking and cookery.

[1] The new building enabled an expansion of technical courses in Townsville but the Department of Public Instruction decided that some students also needed access to general subjects.

[1] Due to the emphasis placed on vocational and technical training by the Department of Public Instruction, a formal high school system was not introduced in Queensland until February 1912.

Additional accommodation was necessary by the mid 1930s and in 1939 the Stanley Street wing was extended, in the same architectural style, to provide extra classrooms.

[2][3] Block A is a prominent building being situated on the corner of Stanley and Walker Streets, against the dramatic backdrop of Castle Hill.

[1] Built to the street alignment, the building is composed of three main parts, a truncated corner structure and two flanking wings arranged in an L-shaped plan.

In contrast to the rest of the facade, the entrance vestibule and the conference room, immediately above, are recessed behind narrow verandahs and surmounted by an octagonal dome.

A flight of stairs, enclosed with lattice panels and doors, is located along the external edge of the verandah on the Stanley Street wing.

[1] On the first floor level above the main stair, a pair of silky oak doors with matching side lights open into the octagonal conference room.

The gallery, reached by a set of narrow stairs in a niche off the main space, has an iron balustrade incorporating a circular motif in the design.

[1] The offices and classrooms have flat sheeted ceilings with timber cover battens laid out in a variety of orthogonal patterns.

This building together with the former School of Arts on the opposite corner, show the pattern of development of technical education in Queensland, from establishment by local committees to subsequent government control in the early 20th century.

It is important in illustrating the principal characteristics of an early 20th century purpose-built technical college, including joint use for many years as a high school.

The imposing classical facades and simple rational planning utilising open verandahs reflect Queensland government policy of the time, to raise community awareness about the value of technical training through the construction of a well designed building with a strong presence in the townscape.

The former Townsville Technical College incorporates natural lighting and ventilation, and appropriate classroom arrangements and facilities for hygiene, which were common themes in the design of educational buildings in the first half of the 20th century.