Motukaraka Dairy Factory

Just a couple of kilometres west of the Kohukohu ferry wharf is yet another sad relic from the prosperous past of the Hokianga.

After the mighty Kauri and Totara of the forests were felled, the land here was deemed right for dairying, and it still is. But the local dairy factories are not. As in other regions, the industrial scale processors have taken over, and small dairies like this one at Motukaraka are long since retired. This one actually finished up a little earlier than some, as it's location, deliberately chosen for ease of transport by water, worked against it when road transport took over.

Image Credit: Google Maps and Auckland Libraries Special Collections, PROGRESS OF THE NORTH AUCKLAND PROVINCE: OPENING OF A NEW BUTTER FACTORY AT MOTUKARAKA IN THE HOKANGA DISTRICT, NOVEMBER, 1908.