The powder magazine and detonator store at Stratford, north of Cairns, were constructed in 1901 for Queensland’s Marine Department. From early June 1942 until mid May 1945 the magazine was occupied by the Australian Military Forces, who used the concrete buildings to store explosives. The former magazine is located at Stratford, to the west of Cairns airport, on the north side of Magazine Road (north of the railway line).

The explosives store is a rectangular building with a hipped corrugated iron roof and three square ventilators on the roof’s ridge. The walls are of concrete with a concrete render, and have numerous vents, with the longer north and south elevations having a central doorway flanked by three narrow windows to each side. The east and west elevations have three narrow windows, and the south entry has a small timber landing.

The store for detonators is a small square plan building, with a hipped corrugated iron roof with a square ridge ventilator, located to the east of the explosives store. The walls are also concrete with a concrete render, with a door to the south and a single narrow window to each side.