View of the Money Box building form Martin Place. 

The building was originally constructed in 1916 and was designed by John Kirkpatrick under the direction of the governor of the Bank, Denison Miller. The later 1933 additions to the building matched the original detailing. The building is socially significant because of its association with the famous 'money box' and with many public rallies held in front of the Bank.

The foundation stones were laid jointly by the Prime Minister, Andrew Fisher and Denison Miller on 14 May 1913.

The building was to be "one of the most up to date Banking Institutions in the World and a monument to the Commonwealth of Australia."

The opening of the new head office took place on 22 August 1916 with speeches from the Governor General, Sir Ronald Munro-Ferguson, the Prime Minister, WM (Billy) Hughes, the Treasurer and Denison Miller himself.

During the first decade of the Commonwealth Bank's existence, the head office building in Sydney became a popular symbol for the bank itself. It was always Denison Miller's intention that the building should present a strong image of the bank to the press and public; however, so successfully was it implanted in the public mind that Denison Miller seized the opportunity to capitalize on it further by creating, or at least approving, the famous Commonwealth Bank money box before June 1922.

There were several reasons for the success. It is undeniably a handsome building in a prime location. The bank's aesthetic qualities did not, of course, ensure its popularity; that was largely the result of the central role played by the bank in the war and post-war loan campaigns from 1916 to 1921, the major Sydney rallies relating to this were always held in front of the Moore Street (Martin Place) portals of the Commonwealth Bank.

It was also in front of the bank that the "little digger", Prime Minister WM (Billy) Hughes, would take his stand to review troops - his Sydney office being upstairs. It was here also that the crowd celebrating the armistice was thickest and it was the spot from which impromptu speeches were made. Hence the image of the people's own bank became a focal point for patriotic national sentiments.

It is now difficult to know how much of this early image building was planned and how much was coincidental. By 1921, however, it was distinctly conscious and Denison Miller had a large model of the building touring the country in support of the repatriation and resettlement "digger's loan". By the following year the Commonwealth Bank tin money box was in service. It was undoubtedly the single most successful venture of its type in Australian history and has remained in nationwide use ever since. It meant that in the public mind the building was the bank and the bank was the building.

While the Bank is no longer a government agency, the building continues to be occupied by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, as the lessee, and includes public banking facilities in the original Banking Chamber.

In 1929, the bank determined on a major extension under the supervision of the commonwealth department of works.

The problem of the three-fold extension of the Pitt Street fa ade and of the conflicting requirements of functional access and symmetry, was finally resolved by the convention of breaking the elevation into three parts and placing a giant ionic portico in the centre. This was flanked by Kirkpatrick's origianl portal on the left and a replication of it on the right. Features included a fine marble and terrazzo entry and lift vestibule and a glazed ceiling in the banking chamber under the main light well.

While John Kirkpatrick's external detailing was faithfully reproduced, the new interiors reflected Art Deco influences. For example, bands of fluting appeared on both wood and marble surfaces.

In 1945 the Commonwealth Bank purchased Gibbs Chambers and Somerset House in Martin Place and in 1965 these were demolished and the present structure facing Martin Place erected under the supervision of the department of works.

In November 1976 the National Trust of Australia (NSW) placed the "head office of the Commonwealth Banking Corporation, on the classified list. Notification of formal entry of the "Commonwealth Trading Bank, Martin Place and Pitt Street", on the Register of the National Estate was given by the Australian Heritage Commission in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazzette No. G11 of 21.3.1987.

Both the lessee (Commonwealth Bank of Australia) and the lessor (Commonwealth Custodial Services Ltd), have an appreciation of the building's significance and this has been displayed by many of the recommended conservation works having been undertaken since the 1989 Conservation Plan recommendations.