Scott's Ferry Site, with its restored barge, is a rare reminder of the importance ferries played in New Zealand in the days before bridges were common. Prior to the introduction of a coach service in the 1870s, the main route from Wellington north to Wanganui and beyond was around the coastline. It appears that by 1843 a ferry service had been established at Parewanui to take people across the mouth of the Rangitikei River. In 1850 Thomas Scott took on the duties of ferryman. Scott also established a trading post and accommodation house at Parewanui. He entered into agreements with local Maori, trading wheat, Indian corn and pigs. The popularity of Parewanui increased as more and more Pakeha settlers moved up the coast with their stock to take up their land in the Wanganui region and beyond. In addition, between 1850 and 1897 the nearby Port of Rangitikei (at the mouth of the river) became an important conduit for the region's produce.

When the Manawatu and Rangitikei county councils were established they took over the ferry service, continuing to employ Scott as the ferryman. Scott died in January 1892 and his widow, Charlotte, and her son took over the service. In April 1897 a large flood tore the banks of the river, destroying all bridges in its path and changing the course of the Rangitikei. The port was destroyed and the ferry site washed away. The ferry was eventually restored with government assistance. With the development of alternative forms of transport, including the North Island main trunk railway line (finished 1908), the need to maintain the ferry as a major transport link declined and, despite opposition from local settlers, it was closed in 1907. In 1908 the barge was sold to the Featherstone family at Parikino. The new owners used the barge to transfer stock across the Whanganui River. In the 1970s the barge was taken down the Whanganui River for an intended maritime museum. The museum never eventuated and the barge gradually sank into the mud of the riverbank. In 1989 the barge was raised and sited near the original Scott's Ferry site, and members of the local community undertook its restoration as a 1990 sesquicentennial project.

Today, Scott's Ferry Site is a rare memorial to a form of transport that was common in New Zealand in the nineteenth century. It is also associated with Thomas Scott, a notable figure in the history of the Rangitikei region.