 Some of these buildings replaced earlier timber structures which were by that time in a poor condition.The third major phase of Cairns' development occurred between the First and Second World Wars, at which time the city's status as the principal port of Far North Queensland was consolidated and the city centre virtually re-built.The Cairns Divisional Board was established in 1879 by the Divisional Boards Act of that year, which brought local government to the whole of the colony, and the divisions were mostly based on existing census districts.