The Cairns waterfront was an important military facility and major centre for the movement of materials and troops during the South West Pacific campaigns of World War II. As the closest Australian port to the New Guinea and Island frontlines, from 1943 Cairns became the main Australian port of embarkation for troops bound for hard-fought amphibious landings on the north coast of New Guinea, and subsequently on the islands of Borneo and Bougainville.

Cairns wharf warehouse sheds Nos. 2 and 3, and their early reinforced concrete wharves survive as a reminder of Cairns waterfront development in the early 1900s. The corrugated iron clad sheds with their steel truss frame roofs, remain in good condition given their age and the events and activity that surrounded them during World War II.