In a report in the Otago Witness, 15/3/1911, it was stated that this four storied building was to be built in ferro-concrete with a 'trachite' façade. The stonework of the façade is an unusual grey-brown stone on the lowest storey and yellow brown on the upper storeys. According to Dr Bruce Hayward, Geological Survey, the lowest storey is faced with trachite from Melbourne and the upper storeys with Hawkesbury sandstone from Sydney. The lowest storey is of undressed blocks, the first storey a mixture of sawn and rough blocks and the upper two storeys are faced with blocks of sawn and carved sandstone. The side walls of the building are plain plaster work. The banking chamber had no internal columns, and had a coffered plaster ceiling with a central glazed dome supported by ferro-concrete beams. The fittings were polished cedar and 'oxidised metal'. The upper storeys included offices which were reached by a side door leading to a marble staircase or the 'electric elevator'. The strong room was to be placed in the centre of the basement and there was to be provision for resident officers and a caretaker with a flat roof at the back for drying laundry. The Otago Witness published an artist's impression of the façade which is identical with the present façade except for the lower storey windows which have slightly different proportions and sunburst fan lights instead of two panes in the two lateral windows.

The ornamental Edwardian-Baroque façade.