Last year on the Waikato District Council Heritage Day the most popular activities in our area were the Matangi Dairy Factory tours offered by owner, Harry Mowbray. Although the district wide Heritage Day is not on this year Harry has offered a tour for those interested. Please meet him in the Bootleg carpark on the Matangi Dairy Factory site, 452 Tauwhare Road, Matangi, at 10 a.m. Saturday, September 13. No need to book.

The whole site is of great interest in terms of past, present and future.

A highlight of the past, of this historic site, which was in operation from 1885 to 1987, is the Glaxo Building that was opened in 1919. Designed by the well-known Hamilton architect Frederick Charles Daniell (1879-1953), the building is architecturally significant for its use of new materials and techniques of construction in reinforced concrete. It was owned by the New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Company Limited Factory, forerunner of Fonterra, that began in Matangi, the heart of the Waikato. While you are in Matangi you can check out the houses on Matangi Road that were designed as part of the project and are known as, ‘the Seven Sisters and Two Brothers’.

In terms of the present, the story of the progress since 2003, when the Mowbrays became owners and began to learn about and develop the site, is truly remarkable.

As to the future – Harry has a great vision to share. See you on September 13.