Home»ALL PHOTOGRAPHS»AUSTRALIA»NSW- ACT,»MANNING VALLEY»Historic Chatham River Front,Taree, NSW

The riverfront at Chatham, a suburb of the NSW Mid North Coast town of Taree was a hive of industrial activity from the around 1900 till the 1970's with two thriving dairy factories producing large quantities of milk, Cheese and other milk based products. A third Dairy Factory operated at Mitchells Island, across the river from where Croki stands today.
A dozen Cream Boats plied the tranquil waters of the scenic Manning River daily bringing Cream Boats laden with shiny stainless steel milk drums to the Peeress and Peters wharves.
The Cream Boats (or Milk Boats) were important links for the early settlers on the river and delivered other necessities such as bread, meat and fruit, not to mention bringing children to school in Taree.
With the arrival of the railway in Taree in 1913 a spur line was built to first, Peters Creamery then on to Peeress Butter Factory via which milk was transported to market.
By the 1970's the Cream Boats had all but gone and road tankers were beginning to replace them.
The two factories closed down possibly in the 1980's and they today and their support infrastructure are gradually deteriorating and the historic potential of these facilities as a tourism precinct appears rapidly to be being lost.