Awatuna: Settlement History in South Taranaki

Awatuna is a small settlement in South Taranaki, New Zealand, on Eltham–Opunake Road, south of Mount Egmont/Taranaki on the Waimate Plain. The town’s history spans an early sawmill, dairy farming, and memorial and community buildings. Several specific historical themes help place Awatuna as a travel destination.

Shaped by a sawmill and dairy farming

The town’s early development began around a sawmill built by Parkes and Brooker on Oeo Road. From the late 1880s, Awatuna developed as a settlement around a dairy factory. These two industries are defining threads in the town’s history.

On 25 July 1894, local farmers founded the Awatuna Co-operative Dairy Factory Company Limited. The Awatuna Co-operative Dairy Factory’s cheese factory opened on Thursday, 1 November 1894; its first manager was Mr Cox. That same year, the Awatuna Dairy Company built a dairy factory near the intersection of the east–west route between Eltham and Opunake and the north–south Auroa Road. By September 1896 at the latest, the Awatuna Dairy Company had started operating a butter factory.

A further snapshot comes from 1908: a dairy factory in Awatuna produced butter and cheese, while the sawmill employed about 20 men. In 1973, the Awatuna and Taungatara dairy factories ceased production; their registrations were cancelled on 17 September 1973. This places the history of the local dairy factories in context, from their founding and production to this turning point.

The Awatuna War Memorial

The Awatuna War Memorial also commemorates Corp. James Robert Gatenby, who was killed in Vietnam on 5 June 1969. The Memorial’s inscription also records deployments in Japan from 1946–1948, the Korean War from 1950–1954, Malaya and Borneo from 1955–1966, and the Vietnam War from 1964–1972.

The Memorial thus brings together the remembrance of one individual and a broader list of deployment locations and periods. The dates span the years after the Second World War through to the Vietnam War; Malaya and Borneo, as well as Vietnam, are listed for years that partly overlap.

School, hall, and earlier landscape

The history of the school and community can also be traced through specific dates. Awatuna School was built in 1886 but did not open until 1893. Awatuna Hall was built in 1895, opposite the school on the other side of Eltham–Opunake Road. The school’s construction and first use were therefore several years apart, while the hall was built two years after the school first opened.

The historic landscape of the Awatuna district looked different from the later settlement landscape: before European settlement, the area was covered in forest with large rimu, rata, tōtara, pukatea, and tawa trees. The dense undergrowth included ferns, vines, climbing plants, and supplejack. This earlier vegetation is another part of Awatuna’s regional history.

History in South Taranaki District

The wider travel destination of South Taranaki District also includes places with other historical themes. In Pātea, Aotea Utanganui – Museum of South Taranaki is a purpose-built museum that embodies the spirit and energy of the South Taranaki region. In Hawera, Tawhiti Museum brings Taranaki’s history to life with thousands of life-size models and scale figures.

As an attraction at Tawhiti Museum, Traders & Whalers depicts 19th-century Taranaki’s coastline with an underground canal boat ride. The Tawhiti Bush Railway in Hawera represents Taranaki’s historic logging railways. At Tawhiti Museum, Mr Badger’s Cafe in Hawera serves fresh homemade pastries and coffee. Check whether the café is open before your trip.

Discover more destinations: Opunake, Hawera, Patea.

For the wider travel overview: South Taranaki District.