[1] The Waianiwaniwa Valley originally belonged to the Deans family.

This particular block belonged to one of the Deans sisters and she sold it to the Hawke family.

The first farmer to use top dressing aircraft was Ernie Hawke on this property.

The Central Plains Water Trust previously sought approval to dam the river for their irrigation scheme, with a proposed water level of 280 metres (920 ft) above sea level.

[2] The Central Plains Water Trust did not progress with these plans, and the irrigation scheme was fully completed and operational in 2017.