Australian Joint Stock Bank (former)/Gympie Stock Exchange Offices and Club (former)

Opposite Smithfield Chambers, the neo-classical Australian Joint Stock Bank (AJSB) building was designed by Queensland Colonial Architect Francis Drummond Greville Stanley and was built in 1881-2. Its elegant temple front is somewhat dwarfed by the surrounding two storey buildings, but its quality and beauty dominate the streetscape. The building has a basement which originally housed the records. The Australian Joint Stock Bank was established in the southern gold fields in 1852 and opened its first Gympie branch in 1868. FGD Stanley was one of the best known architects in Queensland and designed other buildings in Gympie, including the post office and St Patrick’s Catholic Church. While traditionally bank design has posed a sense of strength, the perception of stability could not withstand the 1893 bank collapse. Eight Queensland banks temporarily ceased trading. This bank reopened as a limited liability bank and traded until January 1902. The property was then purchased by the Gympie Stock Exchange Club which was operating from a property adjacent to Smithfield Chambers. Mining share trading peaked in 1903 and slowly declined thereafter. The property was sold in 1923 and the club relocated to Smithfield Chambers. The AJSB building has housed solicitor’s offices since that time.