TAUWHARE STORES

In early days the storekeeper and hotel proprietor were one and the same. The store, built of kauri, was next to the hotel, near the site of Brockway's brick garage.
Mr Oscar Koed sold the store and accommodation house to Mr A. F. Cross in 1927, but must have left money in because when Mr Cross died suddenly in 1931 Mr Koed returned from Otahuhu and took over again. When the top storey was removed from the hotel and the bottom storey became the store, the old store was no longer needed. The sound timber was built into a cottage (now Brockway's Cottage) first occupied by Mr and Mrs Doug Fell.
The Store continued in the old hotel until it was burned down in 1965. After Mr Koed, Storekeepers were Messrs Goodsell, Piers, W. Morey and V. Laurie.
In 1929 or 1930, Mr Frank Windsor, whose family had taken over the Post Office, built a small store on the corner opposite the existing store. In it he made provision for the Post Office. His daughter, Arnie, operated this from 1931-43 when Mrs Daisey Belle Pope took over. Mr Neil Manning came in 1953 and had a Four Square Store as well as being Postmaster. He remained until 1960 when he sold out to Mr Vernon Laurie who had the I.G.A. Store across the road. Competition had been keen, both firms running a delivery service, but the older established Store had petrol pumps. Mr Laurie moved the Post Office into his Store, and shifted the Four Square Store across the road into the paddock beside his Store, where it was used for storage. When the original Hotel-Store burned down on the 15th August 1965, the store-room became a temporary Post Office and District Store until the new concrete block store and brick house were built. This Store cum Post Office continued until May 1975 under Storekeepers, Keith Clough, Roger Giles, Bob Gunn and Terence Sharp. When it closed, Bob Brockway took over the Post Office and ran a Mini-Store at his Garage until he closed down in 1981.
In June 1984, Steve and Frances Spaulding re-opened the concrete block Store on the corner, as a Dairy and Food Takeaway business, so once again we have a Store in the village of Tauwhare.