Tawhiti (location 1)

Taranaki

27 Jun

Alexander Turnbull Library - circa 1908-1917

Dates: 1897-1917*
Location: 39 Grant Road, Tawhiti, Hawera, Taranaki (-39.578069, 174.297739)
Registration No: 641, 1737
Brand name: CROWN; TAWHITI

Early Proposals and Community Effort (1895–1897)

The idea of establishing a dairy factory at Tawhiti first emerged in 1895, when local settlers met to consider forming a co‑operative dairy factory. Advocates such as Mr Sawers promoted co‑operation as the best model, citing successful examples like the Cardiff factory. Early discussions focused on site selection, costs, and whether the district could support more than one factory. By 1897, renewed meetings showed strong support: settlers promised milk from nearly 500 cows, and Government Dairy Expert Mr Sawers endorsed a site on Mr Woods’ property bordering the Tawhiti Stream as “one of the best in Taranaki” for drainage and water supply. These meetings laid the groundwork for a factory that would serve the growing dairying district.

Tawhiti Dairy Factory 1901 - Supplement to Auckland Weekly News, 26 April 1901, p.7 - Auckland Libraries Heritage Collection AWNS-19010426-7-04

Construction and the Crown Dairy Company Era (1897–1902)

In mid‑1897 the Crown Dairy Factory Company agreed to build a butter factory at Tawhiti, calling for tenders and rapidly progressing construction. Machinery, including the engine and boiler, arrived by August, and the factory opened on 20 September as part of the Crown Company’s network. Tawhiti appeared in official factory lists from 1897 onward, operating as a butter‑producing site. The Crown Dairy Company also built a creamery on Fraser Road in 1898 to supply the Tawhiti factory. In 1902, the Crown Company sold the Tawhiti factory (and Fraser Road creamery) to the Hawera Co‑operative Dairy Factory Company, marking the end of the proprietary era and the beginning of co‑operative ownership.

Tawhiti Butter Factory - James McAllister - circa 1897-1902

Expansion Under the Hawera Co‑operative (1902–1917)

After purchasing the Tawhiti factory in 1902, the Hawera Co‑operative expanded operations, adding creameries and increasing milk intake dramatically. Tawhiti continued as an important branch site, with upgrades such as an extra separator installed in 1906. The early 1900s saw debate over whether Tawhiti should switch from butter to cheese production, reflecting wider regional shifts toward cheese manufacture. Although proposals for cheese plants were initially rejected, by 1907 the company was investing heavily in cheese‑curing facilities, and Tawhiti became part of a broader network of specialised branch factories. Renovations incorporated the original creamery into the cheese factory but the manager’s cottage burned down in 1912 and had to be replaced.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1622, 1 April 1903, Page 41 (Supplement) - Photographer likely James Henry Daroux

Fire, Rebuilding, and Relocation (1917)

A devastating fire on 23 March 1917 completely destroyed the factory leaving only the whey tank and workers’ cottages standing. The blaze began in the boiler room and spread rapidly through the wooden buildings. With no firefighting equipment available, the factory could not be saved. The Hawera Dairy Company decided not to rebuild on the same site, partly due to the steepness of Bacon Factory Hill near the factory making transport and access increasingly difficult - instead, a new ten‑vat factory was constructed nearby at the corner of Ohangai and Ararata Roads, marking the end of the original Tawhiti factory’s operational life.