The site had been used as a wharf for shipping goods to Blenheim since a major earthquake in 1848 made the rivers more navigable. Wharfs, warehouses and stores started to pop up and settler William Clouston operated his shipping company from the site, until it closed in 1957. The corrugated iron shed was built to replace a building destroyed by fire in 1914. It had been modified several times over the years and more than half of the building had been completely removed, Binnie said. An ancient Roman coin was found during excavations further up the riverbank in 2003. The coin was displayed at the Marlborough District Council offices.