But beneath the smell of pine woodchips, the sound of rumbling container trucks and the sight of cruise ships with a multicultural melting pot of tourists, the foundations of the seaside community remain the same.
For more than 81 years, Port Chalmers has been home to Otago Daily Times shipping writer Doug Wright (81).
He was born and bred there, and he still remembers the house in Constitution St where his mother gave birth to him.
He also recalls his education at Port Chalmers School when it was situated on Ajax Rd.
Sadly, none of those buildings are there now.
"The current Port Chalmers School, the rugby grounds and all the government houses around it, are on reclaimed land [on Albertson St], made of sand from harbour dredgings.
"In the early days, there was six of everything - six places of worship, six pubs if you count Carey's Bay Inn, and six policemen.
"There was also three railway stations with trains running every hour to Dunedin, a gas works, two banks and a post office.
"Now we only have two policemen and three churches. But there's still five places to get a beer."
Mr Wright said there was a lot of industry in Port Chalmers when he was a boy.
It was the heart of Otago for many years, pumping goods in and out of the local economy.
While the majority of industry was gone now, and the types of goods being imported and exported had changed, Port Chalmers was still the heart of the region, he said.
"You don't really see what's going in and out now, because they're all in containers, even our second-hand Japanese cars.
"You'd be quite surprised what comes in, in them.
"And when the cruise ships come in, the town comes alive ...
"You can drive up the main street some days and barely see anyone. But when the cruise ships are in, it's like George St in Dunedin."
Although the town has changed considerably, Mr Wright said it was the things that had not changed which anchored him to Port Chalmers.
"The constantly passing ships. The historic buildings - some of Otago's oldest buildings are in Port Chalmers.
"I can see the harbour and all of its moods. Sunrises over the peninsula and some beautiful sunsets over Mt Cargill ... oh yes."
Port Chalmers
•Maori name is Koputai.
• Population: About 3000.
• In 1844, Captain Wing anchored the Deborah in what is now called Deborah Bay, where he was joined by Frederick Tuckett who selected an adjoining block of land (the Otago block) as the site for the Scottish New Edinburgh settlement. He nominated Koputai as its deep water port to be called Port Chalmers after the Presbyterian Free Church leader Thomas Chalmers.
• The town was surveyed by Charles Kettle in 1846 and a town board was formed.
• John Wickliffe and Philip Laing, carrying the first settlers, anchored at Port Chalmers in March and April 1848.
