Quate from...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dairy_farming_in_New_Zealand 

"In 1814 the missionary Samuel Marsden introduced the first Shorthorn dairy cows to the Bay of Islands from New South Wales. From the 1840s, most settlements had farms with some Shorthorn dairy cattle. Herds tended to be larger near urban areas.[1]

The first dairy co-operative was established on Otago Peninsula in 1871. In 1881, the newly arrived colonist William Bowron gave a series of lectures propounding the notion that the institution of dairy factories, for the mass production of cheese, would be greatly advantageous to the economy of New Zealand.[2] He was largely instrumental in the establishment of the Ashburton Cheese and Butter Factory at Flemington, managed by William Harding, son of the Cheddar Cheese founder Joseph Harding.[3] The venture was a great success, and consequently Bowron was appointed Government Inspector of Dairy Factories in 1883.[4] In this capacity, he largely facilitated the setting up of factories across the country until his death in 1890.[5] He published three pamphlets on the manufacture of cheese, butter and bacon in New Zealand.[6]"