This historic place was registered under the Historic Places Act 1980. The following text is the original citation considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration. Designed by Wellington architects Clere & Clere (F de J and E H de J) in 1925 and completed in 1928, this building deriving from Renaissance Palace design, is one of the significant examples of this form remaining in the capital. The façade is classically organised into well defined rusticated base, windows at all levels above with different pediments creating a suitable rhythmic pattern, and a heavy cornice with terra cotta plaques below. Dominating the Customhouse Quay façade is a large and impressive portal on the grand scale which occupies nearly a third of the vertical height of the building. This leads to a main office space which, at the time of its construction, was one of the largest single rooms in New Zealand and, with its four huge Italian marble columns with Corinthian capitals, remains one of the grandest. The building on its corner site is a major contribution to the townscape with its restrained ornamentation, discipline and dignity of design.