This brick butter factory replaced the old wooden factory which was constructed during the 1890s. The Rongotea Co-operative Dairy Co. Ltd was established in 1895 and was amalgamated in 1960 with the Awahuri Co-operative Dairy Co. Ltd, to form the Manawatu Co-operative Dairy Co. Ltd. Ronald Matheson is in the foreground wearing a bowler had and a waist coat.