two tanks were built on the former railway reserve on the north side of Collins Avenue. This land had been leased privately prior to the war and two small buildings were demolished to make way for Tank 2, which lay on the former railway alignment. Tank 1 was constructed on the site of the former Edge Hill railway station. Because these tanks were intended to hold dieseline they were constructed in plate steel, sourced from Broken Hill Pty Ltd. There were significant delays during construction, with correspondence between Queensland Main Roads, Allied Works Council and the Australian Navy revealing the frustration of all concerned in a project that was considered vital to the Allied war effort. Confusion as to where the steel tanks were to be sited, a lack of graders and poor planning hindered construction. Adjacent to tanks 1 and 2 a small pump house was constructed and an underground fuel pipeline was laid from the pump house along the former Cairns-Herberton railway embankment and under the streets of North Cairns to Trinity Wharf. South of Collins Avenue, opposite Tanks 1 and 2 and on the former railway alignment, a fire station (garage) and foam tank were constructed. Tanks 3-5 were sited further west, on the former quarry located partly within the recreation reserve and partly within a quarry reserve. This area was already part excavated. Further excavation, including removal of a rocky outcrop, was undertaken during the second half of 1943 to create a level site for tanks 3–5. Tanks 3-5 were sited away from the first two tanks for several reasons. Firstly the landscape was prohibitive and part of the hill had to be removed, with the core left for camouflage, before all five tanks could be constructed. Secondly, having tanks 3-5 located at some distance from tanks 1-2 decreased risk to the whole installation. Thirdly, existing mature trees and the topography could be capitalised on to camouflage tanks 3-5 (tanks 1 and 2 relied on heavy steel cables and netting material as camouflage). Because tanks 3-5 were intended for the storage of crude oil they were constructed in reinforced concrete. This was hand-poured by a team of contractors from Melbourne, with some workers inscribing their names in the concrete bunds surrounding the tanks. A second pump house was constructed adjacent to tanks 3–5, and an underground fuel pipeline was laid from this pump house south east