The Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal. Image courtesy of Ports North

The Cairns Wharf Complex is entered on the Queensland Heritage Register (Place ID 601790).  The complex was constructed as part of a wharf improvement scheme undertaken by the Cairns Harbour Board.  Work on the scheme began in 1910 and it was completed in 1925.  The scheme consisted of five reinforced concrete wharves, associated wharf sheds and railway infrastructure.  A sugar shed, which included innovative sugar bag-handling technology, was completed in 1923.  Other features of the complex include entrance gates and a clock tower installed in No. 3 Wharf Shed in 1948.  The wharf improvement scheme was significant for its time.  It was a major development in Cairns and it was an early use of reinforced concrete in wharf construction in Australia.  The complex is aesthetically important; the design, function and appearance of the wharves and wharf sheds evoke an appreciation of a historic, functioning wharf facility.  The complex is also located in the Cairns Central Business District and this is increasingly rare in coastal Queensland cities.

The wharves under construction c1915. Image courtesy of John Oxley Library

The Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal project focused on the adaptive reuse of No. 3 Wharf Shed for the terminal.  Converge Heritage + Community worked closely with the Project team, which included architects, engineers and a material conservation expert, to deliver a functional terminal that met current building and cyclonic standards while conserving and interpreting the heritage values of the shed and the broader wharf complex to best-practice standards.  The planning process was complex and was reflected in the range of reporting that required tailored heritage advice, including a masterplan report, concept design report, heritage interpretation strategy and statement of heritage impact to accompany the development application.  Converge developed the cultural heritage section of the Construction Environmental Management Plan, undertook tool box talks with construction management and staff and monitored excavation and construction works to ensure compliance with the development approval.  An archival recording was undertaken to the Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) Cultural Heritage Branch standards and a completion report provided at the conclusion of the construction, illustrating the site ‘before’ and ‘after’ and detailing activities during the construction phase that related to heritage aspects of the project, including discovery of archaeological material.  Converge staff also liaised extensively with senior staff of DERM during the planning and construction phases of the project.

No. 3 Wharf Shed prior to redevelopment

Ports North and Converge Heritage + Community were recognised for the adaptive reuse of the Queensland heritage-listed No. 3 Wharf Shed to the Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal at the National Trust of Queensland Bendigo Bank Heritage Awards held in Brisbane on Thursday 25 August 2011.  The project was awarded a Gold Queensland Heritage Council Award, which recognises achievements in the conservation of places entered on the Queensland Heritage Register, and the John Herbert Memorial Award for the most outstanding nomination across all the award categories. The Heritage Awards recognise the exceptional cultural heritage projects undertaken throughout Queensland and have been held for over thirty years. The Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal has also received a number of recent architectural awards, including the Eddie Oribin Building of the Year award for Far North Queensland and the Don Roderick Award for Heritage in the 2011 Queensland Architecture Awards, awarded by the Australian Institute of Architects.