In 1909 The Kauri Timber Company (KTC) established a large sawmill in Whangaparapara Harbour with a capacity of more than 60,000 feet of sawn timber per day. Timber was loaded directly onto to overseas vessels to be exported around the world, including Sydney and San Francisco ( after the XXXX earthquake).
Timber was mainly sourced from Northland and the Coromandel and brought to the mill by large tugs towing floating rafts of logs.