WHEREAS by Crown Grant bearing date the 8th day of October 1861 all that parcel of land in the Province of Otago in the Dominion of New Zealand situate in the Harbour of Otago below high-water mark and opposite and adjacent to the Town of Dunedin containing by admeasurement 421 acres 3 roods and 13 perches more or less bounded as in the said Grant is mentioned was granted to the Superintendent of the Province of Otago and his successors in trust for the improvement of the Harbour of Otago and the construction and maintenance of such docks, piers, and other works therein as might be deemed advisable by the said Superintendent for facilitating the trade and commerce of the City and Port of Dunedin: AND WHEREAS it is expedient that the land comprised in the said Grant should be included within the limits of the City of Dunedin and that the Superintendent should be empowered to grant leases of a portion of the said lands for periods not exceeding 99 years in order to raise money for carrying out the trusts of the said Grant.

The Preamble was amended by section 29(2) Acts Interpretation Act 1924 by substituting the reference to the “Dominion of New Zealand” for a reference to the “Colony of New Zealand”.