A distant view from the shoulder of Pukearinga in 1901 was but little different from the picture presented these fifty years later - a beautiful green basin, sheltered by mountains on two sides and sloping to a plateau on the north; its placid river meandering down the centre towards the Kaipara Harbour.

Here were green fields, good fences, cosy-looking homesteads with well-grown shelter trees, and roads a-plenty.  Assuredly, the farmers, mainly Albertland settlers, had been very industrious in so changing to productive pastureland, a wilderness of bush and scrub - all in a span of thirty years.

A closer view, however, was less pleasing to the stranger accustomed to the lush cocksfoot pastures of Taranaki.  Too much clay soil was in evidence, supporting a thin growth of the inferior grasses, which were then prevalent.  Its carrying capacity might be estimated at one and a half sheep to the acre.

The roads, although well laid out, were far from being all-weather roads.  Much rutted in summer, in winter they were largly deep undisguised mud!  The best meander was Bob Ross with his team of bullocks smoothing the surfaces for the few wheeled vehicles of the settlement.

In 1901, friend Horse was in his kingdom.  He did the small amount of cultivation that was carried on; drew the few wagons and family buggies, likewise the catamaran and the sleigh which suited the roads best.  The children rode him to school, the grown-ups to church and concert.  It must also be recorded that he featured in the courtships.  A man was known by the horse he rode - the young bloods sighed "My kingdom for a horse!"

The economic situation in these years, in most close settlement areas, fell far below the prosperity of the town and city.  There was little money; no railway, good roads or electricity, mail and newspapers came but twice a week.  The farm produced much of the food for homes which were surprisingly good, lacking none of the creature comforts.  Best of all were those great homemakers, the wonderful pioneer women.

At the time we review, few of the farms were large enough to support a family.  Cows in small numbers were usually kept, but dairy butter, bartered at local stores, or, after a toilsome fourteen miles' journey to Waipu, shipped by the 'Rob Roy' to Auckland, brought only a sixpence a pound.

Many of the farmers had been accustomed to augmenting their income by doing outside work such as shearing, clearing on nearby runs, road making and kauri bush work.  By 1901, however, these supplementary sources of income had practically disappeared and the settlers were forced to look to their farms to provide a full income.

This, then, was the situation when the settlers began to consider entering on the new industry of "Co-operative Dairying". It says a great deal for their courage and optimism that they disregarded their handicaps and initiated what was actually a local industrial revolution.