The town, including shops, hotels, warehouses, banks, the customs house and other government offices developed around the port area.

[1] Soon after taking over control of the Cairns wharves, the Harbour Board began planning for an extensive new system of wharfage extending along the shoreline in one unbroken length.

The Cairns Post carried a photo of the clock on its front page on 23 September 1948 with the caption that it "is a valuable asset to the port".

Subsequently, a hole was cut in the office immediately below the clock making it easier to periodically change the car battery.

Most working activity at the Cairns wharves has shifted upstream to newer wharf developments, including the bulk sugar terminals, built in the 1960s.

[1] In 2010, a redevelopment project commenced on the wharves, including the adaptive re-use of Number 3 wharf shed as the new Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal.

The piles are reinforced concrete and the upper ends were apparently poured in-place in stages around four vertical iron rods.

On 14 September 1948, the Cairns Post included the following details of the clock:[1]The four dials are each six feet in diameter and are driven by a single central unit.

Timekeeping is kept by a pendulum weighing 100 lbs., which pushes the mechanism round with a force capable of overcoming all normal obstacles, yet it is so delicately powered that it takes only a fraction of the current an ordinary electric torch would consume.

[1]The only part of the clock which would stop if electricity failed would be the bell, operated by a one quarter horse power motor directly connected to the mains.

It is intended to silence the chimes between mid-night and 5.30 a.m.[1]There are 27 gear wheels in the clock and about 30 bal bearings, which are heavy enough for hundreds of years of wear.

An electrical conveyor system was installed in the shed to move sugar bags to and from ships' holds and railway wagons, and was fully operational by 1926.

The overhead conveyors from White's Shed to number 3 wharf were reconstructed in 1946, while maintenance and repairs to both "shore and floating plant" were made in 1947.

[1] Electric travelling cranes were located immediately adjacent to the northern end and western side of the building during this era.

At this new terminal, huge volumes of sugar could be stored and delivered directly into the holds of ships, without needing to be packed into bags or other containers.

The sinker log crane on the west side of the shed was sold in 1959 and was later used at Rankine's Peeramon Mill, near Lake Eacham on the Atherton Tablelands, where it currently resides.

A loading door is present in the front end of the building, and was reportedly added after 1988 so that large maritime artefacts could be easily moved into the structure.

In recent years the building housed Coxen Chemicals (a detergent manufacturer) and Rothfire Pty Ltd (a prawn merchant).

[1] The Cairns Wharves and associated structures are bordered by Wharf Street to the west and the waters of Trinity Inlet to the east.

A series of concrete sections measuring about 3 metres (9.8 ft) long are immediately adjacent to the beam and extend the length of the wharf.

Water taps are present at regular intervals, and plumbing, electrical conduits, and compressed air pipes are affixed to the underside of the wharf.

However the framing at the southern end of number 3 wharf shed exhibits signs of accelerated deterioration due to exposure to the weather.

The loading dock remnant existing behind number 3 wharf shed consists of rectangular, round, or half-round decking support timbers placed on log or concrete piers.

[1] The basic structure of White's Shed appear to be largely intact, including much of the sugar bag stacking apparatus on the ceiling.

A complex system of conveyors and hopper chutes for the delivery of sugar bags is present attached to the ceiling of the structure.

The south side of the building is marked by loading doors and four windows and this area is landscaped and modified for social functions.

The railway lines demonstrate the importance of rail links in establishing Cairns as the dominant regional port in far North Queensland, and consequently, as a viable town.

The railway lines are also integral to an understanding of the operation of the wharves, with wharf shed platforms that aligned to the height of the rail cars.

The remnant bag-stacking machinery located in White's shed has the potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Queensland's history.

The wharves and sheds offer a physical reminder of the importance of the Board in establishing the maritime focus of the city and the development of the region.