Waipuku
Waipuku branch 1933 - photographer unknown
Dates: 1892-1960
Location: 805 Mountain Road, Midhirst 4394, Taranaki (-39.262016, 174.254417)
Registration No: See Midhirst
Brand name: See Midhirst
Google Maps - 2026
NZMS13 - TN21 - 1925
The Waipuku Creamery
Perched on the highest point of the main road, Waipuku takes its name from the Māori words meaning “swelling waters”, a reference to the springs and streams that feed the nearby river. Today, it is little more than a place name, but in the late nineteenth century Waipuku was a thriving rural settlement.
In 1877, Waipuku became the first township laid out by the Waste Land Board. At its peak, it boasted a hotel, blacksmith's shop, school, builder, cemetery and two general stores, serving the growing farming community that emerged as the surrounding bush was steadily cleared.
The township’s fortunes changed in 1892 when a new sawmill was established at Tariki, less than four kilometres to the north. The mill attracted much of Waipuku’s population, and before long the school, hotel and many residents had relocated to the new centre. What might have been the end of Waipuku was instead the beginning of a new chapter.
That same year, the Waipuku Creamery was built at the corner of Rutland and Mountain Roads as part of the private dairy factory recently established at Midhirst. With A. Brown appointed as its first manager - later to become chairman of the Midhirst Co-operative Dairy Company - the creamery became the focal point for around 30 local farming families who remained in the district.
The creamery soon gave Waipuku a renewed sense of purpose. In 1895 the post office was moved closer to the site, turning milk delivery day into a social occasion. While farmers gathered to discuss local affairs, children eagerly collected the district’s mail.
After serving the community for nearly three decades, the original timber creamery was replaced in 1919 by a modern concrete building. An unusual discovery occurred around 1935 when the company drilled in search of a better water supply. Instead, workers struck vegetable gas. The gas burned readily when ignited, raising hopes of a useful resource, but the quantity proved too small for commercial use and the bore was eventually sealed. Remarkably, traces of the gas were still evident as late as 1979, when vapour could be seen escaping from the ground.
The creamery remained at the heart of the district until changes in the dairy industry made local processing obsolete. Bulk tanker collection was introduced during the 1959 season, eliminating the need for farmers to deliver milk to the creamery. The following year, in 1960, the Waipuku Creamery finally closed its doors after 68 years.
The site found a new life when it was taken over by Doughty Tanks Ltd and converted into a concrete tank manufacturing plant. More than six decades later, the business remains on the site, providing a tangible link between Waipuku’s dairying past and its continuing role in the district's economy.
Roadside Sabotage
On the evening of 19 September 1917, Stratford resident Len Porter narrowly escaped a serious accident in what appears to have been a deliberate act of roadside sabotage. Porter was travelling by motorcycle along Croydon Road, having just left the Waipuku Creamery, when he struck a large barrel of tar placed directly in the centre of a dip on a bend in the road.
The obstruction was impossible to see until the last moment. Porter collided with the barrel and was thrown violently from his motorcycle, suffering injuries to his knee and face. Despite his condition, he managed to warn two approaching motorcars heading toward Stratford, preventing what could have been a far more serious incident.
The barrel was so heavy that it reportedly took two men to remove it from the road - the motive and culprit(s) were never identified.
Flood Strikes Waipuku: Creamery Manager Swept From His Bed
Flooding at Waipuku in 1918 sent nearly six feet of water across the road, stopping all traffic. Creamery manager Peter Thompson endured the worst of it when a blocked culvert forced water into his home, nearly sweeping him from his bed. The sudden surge destroyed his poultry and left him dealing with significant discomfort and disruption.
Waipuku toll gate - 1920s - photographer unknown
Toll gates like this one at Waipuku were once common in the region to fund road improvements. This one was built just south of the creamery on Mountain Road around 1915 and collected fees to pay for road surfacing in the district. Taranaki was enthusiastic about toll roads: by 1906 the province had seven toll gates, and toll revenues helped seal two‐thirds of its main roads by 1935. The Waipuku tollgate shut in 1924 and it was relocated to the Waipuku creamery to act as a storehouse.
Photographer unknown
Factory section - 1894
Factory looking north - Ron Lambert 2015
Factory looking south - Ron Lambert 2015
Factory looking north - 2025 (Google Street View)
Factory looking south - 2025 (Google Street View)