​The West Coast Refrigeration Company – The Cool Stores
Adapted from article By Robert B MacBeth, from the Patea Mail Centennial edition 1981

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In 1894 The Patea Dairy Association had been formed by dynamic businessman Orlando Oldham, and a Dairy Factory built alongside the meatworks. This operated for seven years, processing milk from Whenuakura and Kakaramea, until Factories were built in these two areas.
   In late 1900 the Patea Chamber of Commerce held meetings in Eltham and Hawera to discuss the possibility of creating a co-operative company amongst the local dairy companies and to build a cheese grading works and cool store at the Patea Harbour.
   New Plymouth naturally opposed the idea. In 1901, largely due to the efforts of local press proprietor, Mr John F. Holloway, the co-operative company, ‘The West Coast Refrigerating Company’, was finally inaugurated with an authorised capital of £25,000. The following dairy companies were the first shareholders in the venture: Awatuna, Kakaramea, Kaupokonui, Meremere, Waverley, Mangatoki, Hurleyville, Whenuakura and Mells. To be added to the list at later dates were: Alton, Riverdale, Ararata, Hawera, Manutahi, Normanby, Pihama and Wanganui.
In that same year, the first buildings, a small cool store and wharf, were erected on Harbour Board and Railway leases just south of the railway wharf and exporting enterprise that was to last 53 years began.
    The plant, a 30 ton Hercules refrigerator, cooled the 54,000 cubic feet of storage space with circulating air. The produce was carried by conveyor from the railway wagons and horse driven carts into the stores. After grading, the butter and cheese was loaded from the stores into the ships hold. The operation was run by Mr Frederick William Grainger, secretary-manager.
    The first year of operation was so successful that the butter storage room had to be extended and new plant purchased, 61,627 boxes of butter were handled. The second year was just as successful with 1791 tons of produce worth £677,928 exported over the harbour bar.
    The Cool Stores had to be extended five times before 1910. The company began to prove itself as a worthwhile enterprise. Five men were employed along with office staff. In 1904 the first permanent grading officer, Mr Walter Wright, was appointed. The Company often   complained   about   the   lack  of shipping, and the wharves began to see several new ships. And, shareholders benefited with regular dividend payments of five percent.
    1912 saw the birth of a sister company that was an essential part of the export operation. The subscribing dairy companies along with the ‘Refrigerating Company‘, purchased the ‘Patea Shipping Company' and the ‘South Taranaki Shipping Company’ was formed. With its fleet of four vessels,  'Mana', 'Kiripaka', 'Kapuni' and 'Hawera' it handled the actual transportation of the dairy produce. It was a great boost for the Port and the grader works, even though it wasn’t always run economically and efficiently.
     A strike in October and November of 1913 caused 212 tons of produce to be handled by New Plymouth. Still, 13,745 tons of produce was handled, an increase of 688 tons on the previous year. This was made up of 163,567 cases of cheese, 10,720 boxes of butter and other produce (although cheese and butter were the most important of the goods handled, the company also handled other goods such as frozen meat).
     In 1915, the effects of the war began to show. It was decided to extend the cheese store facilities in anticipation of war shipping congestion. This gave the Company capacity to store a further 18,000 cases of cheese.    All butter and cheese exported went to either London or the West of England via Wellington. In this year it amounted to 164,443 cases of cheese and 14,859 boxes of butter. The Directors decided to add another store to hold approximately 25,000 cases of cheese in 1917. The following season saw the increase in authorised capital to 50,000 pounds and again to 75,000 pounds in 1919, in order to enable sundry storage additions to be made.    “£23,00036 pounds was expended in additions to buildings and plant during our last financial year ending 20th June, 1919”. (Taken from sundry letters written by Mr Grainger).
    163,000 cases of cheese could now be stored with provision for a further 14,000.  The Hawera Winter Show Buildings and other available buildings were converted for use. Some Factories had to send their produce to Moturoa.
    "The extension of buildings are being pushed on as fast as possible to take in all new season‘s cheese so that it will not suffer the deterioration that last season's cheese suffered." (Taken from sundry letters written by Mr Grainger).
    The war had the effect of rapidly extending the facilities of the Company, although it caused a headache with regard to shipping. Immediately after the war there was an increase in the amount of butter handled to 70,468 boxes and cheese to 198,099 crates in 1921-1922. Some cheese storage facilities were converted for butter and once again the Company had to find extra facilities and the freezing works were used for storage and freezing.
In March 1921 a large part of the Cool Stores were destroyed by fire, they were rebuilt in concrete, which still stand today.
    The 1930s depression brought increased output through the Grader Works. 14,410 tons of produce was exported in the 1932-33 season. Patea at this time had an output of cheese greater than that of either Auckland or New Plymouth. Labour troubles once again hindered the Company and Chairman Mr J. R. Corrigan fired grading workers who refused to load the ships in the place of striking wharf workers. However, the Company survived this and the depression and continued to export dairy produce.
          In 1945 the Hawera Cool Store was sold to the ‘National Dairy Association‘. Plans to rebuild there were forgotten when in 1954 the ‘West Coast Refrigerating Company’ merged with the New Plymouth based ‘Taranaki Producers’ Freezing Company’. In this way, all of Taranaki's produce was handled by the one company. Efforts to centralise shipping from one Port was made when a new store, named after the Chairman of the West Coast Company at the time, Mr Frank Parsons, was opened in New Plymouth in 1957. This was the beginning of the end for Patea. Shipping of Dairy Produce from Patea ceased in 1959.