Water Trough, State Highway 45 (c1880)

This concrete water trough sits just off State Highway 45, near the old Riverdale Dairy factory. 

According to the Outer Hāwera Heritage Inventory, it was possibly installed in the 1880s although there are no records to confirm this. It's likely that it was used by horses delivering milk to the Riverdale factory and later as a source of water for cooling boiling radiators in the early days of motor cars. 

A plaque mounted on the outside of the tough was presented to the South Taranaki District Council in 1991 by Anderson Memorials & Stone Co. Ltd of Hāwera reads:

"This water trough is one of the few remaining relics of the pioneer days in this area. It is believed to have been erected for the convenience of horses taking milk to the nearby Riverdale Factory. But was a popular stopping place for all horse and carriage traffic travelling the coast road."

While once lying well clear of the road, it now sits less than a metre from the sometimes busy highway.