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Wharf, one of the oldest landing stages, originally consisted of a simple wooden pier which needed to be replaced as successive reclamations advanced the seafront. In the mid-1880s when it was rebuilt it was still the principal landing place on the Island, being by this time a substantial wooden structure. Numerous other piers and jetties have always been scattered along the north shore which generally served the smaller-sized coastal and harbour shipping, larger ocean-going vessels making increasing use of the deep-water facilities in Kowloon. In 1911, the main piers in the central district were Queen's Pier (rebuilt in the mid-1920s), Kowloon (Star) Ferry Pier, Blake Pier (previously Pedder's Wharf) and the old P&O Jetty. By 1930 there were still some 30 piers and jetties on the Island jutting out into the harbour. The effects of severe typhoons caused immense damage to vessels and facilities, and heavy loss of life, for example that in 1874 resulting in the deaths of 2,000 persons; old photographs show a devastated harbour with the remnants of numerous piers sticking out of the wreckage-strewn waters.
By 1887, on the Mainland there were three principal jetties, ranging in length from about 110 to 145 metres lying just north of the south-west tip of Kowloon peninsula and a 150m-long vertical seawall to the south. The dock area itself incorporated a 1.2km-long narrow-gauge steel tramway system which was manually operated along the wharfage and through the extensive godowns. As a result of the devastating 1906 typhoon, in which 10,000 lives were lost (over 2% of the total population), enormous damage was caused to the existing wharfs and to the new Star Ferry pier which was completely severed and marooned from the land. A 200m-long 13m-wide wharf with 9 metres of water at low tide was added to the complex in 1916 which was long and deep enough to allow the largest ship visiting Hong Kong at that time to come alongside. By 1925 there were already 18 deep-water berths available in Kowloon.
Early in the century there were also piers and wharves for passenger ferries and commercial vessels in other locations, for instance in 1904 a berth was constructed at Lai Chi Kok to serve the oil tank farm and, shortly afterwards, at the end of Boundary Street there was a 36m-long 2m-wide pier with sufficient depth of water to enable freight to be transferred to and from steam launches.