The original wharf on this site was built by the Mercury Bay Timber Co in 1882, a year after the mill moved from its original site at Ferry Landing to the western, flat side of the estuary. A hand or steam winch on the beach was used to load timber from the shore to waiting schooners and scows. A horse pulled the rope and tackle joined to the yardarm, and if the load was too heavy for the horse to manage, three or four sailors would be recruited. Timber was all deck cargo and the Kauri Timber Company had its own wharf in front of the mill. There was a small office at the wharf’s end where the tally clerk recorded the number of logs coming into the mill and on the end of each log coded the company it was felled for and the bushmen who felled it. It was one of the busiest wharves in New Zealand, with ships coming from around the world to export over 500 million feet of timber. The new wharf, built in 1932 when dairying developed and the older wharves proved unsafe. Cargo such as inbound manure and outbound wool was stored in a shed on the wharf and hoisted to and from small delivery boats moored underneath a large trapdoor in the floor. The Mercury Game Fishing clubrooms were built on the wharf in 1966 where they remained until 2003, when they were relocated across the road from the wharf.

Step into explore the rich heritage of Te Whanganui o Hei Mercury Bay.