Derelict Patea Wharf and Cheese Factory

Unlikely as it may seem, ships from Pātea once provided over half of the port of Wellington’s dairy exports. Pātea’s end came when the big British lines cut the subsidies. The South Taranaki Shipping Co. ceased trading in 1959. The wharves fell silent and had their decking removed during the 1970s, leaving the piling and the entrance works to mark the port’s passing. In the 1980s the freezing works closed. The cheese factory went, too.