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 for at the time of the transference of the control from the Provincial Council to the Board considerable alteration had taken place on the foreshores. In the 'forties, Commercial Bay swept round from Britomart Point, along a beach, which subsequently became Fort Street, to a headland known successively as Stanley Point and Smales Point. This promontory stood in the vicinity of Albert Street and Customs Street West. By 1870 the foreshore had been reclaimed, and Customs Street East added to the City's highways. At that date Customs Street ended at the foot of a cliff, and a long flight of steps, known as "Jacob's Ladder," led up to Emily Place. On the western side of Queen Street, Customs Street ended at the waterfront opposite Albert Street.

The wharf accommodation in 1870 was very small indeed. The first Auckland wharf was the Wynyard Pier, which was built in the 'forties, and was situated in Official Bay, in a direct line from Short Street. Commercial Bay had from the first been selected as the shipping centre of Auckland, and by 1852 considerable work had been expended upon the improvement of the facilities for loading and unloading vessels. The Queen Street Wharf has always been the principal wharf, but in 1852 there was a small pier leading from the lane which ran from the Victoria Hotel to Shortland Street, and east of Graham's bond (a stone building which still stands in Fort Street, but at that time was right on the waterfront) there was a landing stage. Between 1852 and 1870 a new wooden wharf replaced