The bananas are carried on the heads of laborers to the nearest road, then transported by trucks and motor trailers to the packing shed.

In 1909, the company built a new office next to the packing shed.

A grand banquet was served in the packing shed, to impress the guests with the size of the building and show off company's modern processing and distribution facilities.

Its wide fields are littered today with abandoned packing sheds and rusted rail spurs.

In 2008, a new $5 million animal hospital, claimed to be the largest wildlife hospital in the world, opened next to the packing shed.

Supporting the fruit industry are businesses such as a fruit juice processor and several packing sheds.

A sign on the packing shed of one farmer, Fritz E. Umlor, says "No help wanted" in foot-high letters.

The co-op got started in the late 1990's, with a small grant from the government to upgrade the packing shed.

Current facilities include a computerized packaging line, a packing shed, and a cooling facility.

As a young boy he spent much of his life growing up in a packing shed (wool shed or fruit packing shed - rural) in Tauranga.