Waingongoro Road

The Waingongoro River, one of the longest in South Taranaki, was named by Ngāti Ruanui leader Turi. Legend has it he snored loudly while he slept by the river mouth. Waingongoro Road, situated much closer to Stratford, is named after the river.

Gravel from the riverbed was used to improve the road in the 1880s. A few years later a gravel reserve was established on some land beside the road. The improved access encouraged the Midhirst Dairy Company to build a factory on the road in 1911.

Before long, settlers in the area formed the Waingongoro Co-operative Dairy Company and bought the factory. In 1918, with eight farms suppling milk, the factory started manufacturing a brand of cheese it called ‘Coldstream’. Over one hundred tons was produced each year until the early 1930s.

In the depths of the depression years, the efficiencies inherent in larger factories became more important in ensuring a better return for farmers. In 1933, after some of the Waingongoro factory’s suppliers went elsewhere, the factory closed.

A school had been established on the road in 1913. With the declining population in the area, it closed in 1942 and the children went to Cardiff School.

In the late 1950s a radio communications tower was built on land beside Waingongoro Road. The site was a link in the microwave radio system then used to carry toll calls in the North Island.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.