McDonald Real Estate Ltd, Hawera 2.3

McDonald Real Estate was founded in 1912 by Michael (Mick) McDonald Senior. Mick McDonald began operating from an office on Broadway in Stratford in 1918. To this day, the McDonald Real Estate Stratford office is still located at the same site. Mick operated as a one man band until his son, Tom, joined him in 1946. Together they continued as a father and son partnership until Mick's retirement and subsequent death in 1961. After his father's retirement, Tom McDonald continued the business as a sole practitioner for several years until in the late 1960s, he formed a partnership with Mr W.L. (Joe) Witton. Together, they operated McDonald Real Estate, which concentrated on the Stratford market.

In 1976, Tom McDonald's son, Peter, then 22 years of age, joined his father in the family business. In 1979, another son, Mike (29), also joined the firm. The father and sons team proved to be a big success for McDonald Real Estate and the blend of experience and youthfulness saw the market share soar. During this time, they were consistently handling 75 - 80% of the entire rural market for Taranaki. With the growth in sales came expansion and the company opened further offices in both Eltham (1981) and Inglewood (1985) - soon becoming the major operator in both areas.

The demand for McDonald Real Estate services saw branches open in Waitara (1999), Hawera (2000), Oakura (2002) and Bell Block (2005). In 2005 the company welcomed the 4th generation of the McDonald family, as Peter’s son Daniel (22) joined the firm. Daniel started in residential sales but now holds the position of general manager. The company marked its complete coverage of the Taranaki region by opening offices in New Plymouth (2008) and Opunake (2016).