The Australian Hotel is a one of the best, intact example of Art Deco diginge in the city. While the building has undergone some alterations in recent years including replacement of original windows and tiles to the ground floor, it retains key features of the streamline modern style of Art Deco architecture.

The original timber building was damaged in the 1918 cyclone and rebuilt. The current hotel was constructed by the Conway Family Estate in 1940.

The hotel was constructed by William and Frank Guthrie to the design of Edwin Orchard. The Guthrie’s are noted as builders of some of Mackay’s most prominent buildings in the 1920s to 1940s, the style of the building colloquially referred to as ‘ocean liner Art Deco’ as is to represent a ship moving through the water. Entering the hallway off Wood-street, is the original silky oak staircase.