The area is part of the rohe of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, who settled around the Wairoa River.

Tainui followers of Manawatere, who identified as Ngā Oho, decided to settle the Pōhutukawa Coast and the Wairoa River.

[10] The river mouth formed the traditional heartland of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki.

[11] Ngāi Tai peoples traditionally lived in seasonal cycles, focusing on fishing and shellfish collecting, cultivations and collecting berries and snaring birds in the river's upper reaches, depending on the season.

[10] The river-mouth was used as a summer pioke (Shortspine spurdog shark) fishing ground, which were dried for the winter months.

[13] When William Thomas Fairburn visited the area in 1833, it was mostly unoccupied due to the events of the Musket Wars, as most members of Ngāi Tai had fled to temporary refuge in the Waikato.

[9][11] In 1836, Fairburn purchased 40,000 acres between Ōtāhuhu and Umupuia (Duders Beach), including much of the catchment of the Wairoa River.

[11] Fairburn's Purchase was investigated by the New Zealand Land Commission in 1841 and 1842 and found to be excessive and reduced in size.

[11] The first settlers in the area were D. McNicol and Mr G. Hoye, who purchased 1,100 acres on the eastern banks of the Wairoa River, and settled with their families circa 1852.

[14] Early settlers cleared native bush for farming, worked flax mills in swampy areas, and harvested kauri logs, which were transported to Auckland to be processed.

[10] In September 1863 during the Invasion of the Waikato, Ōtau was attacked by the British army, and the village was evacuated.

For the remainder of the war, Ngāi Tai were designated as a "friendly" people by the Crown, and remained neutral in the fighting.

[10] During the war, military blockades were placed on either side of the Wairoa River, including the Galloway Redoubt.

[14] In 1865, 150 new immigrants from Scotland on board the Viola arrived at Wairoa, settling around the former Ōtau kāinga.

The allotments were not sufficient to sustain a village, and the immigrants gradually moved away or closer to the settlement near the Wairoa Bridge.

[17] All Souls Church, built in the Selwyn style and located in Clevedon, is registered by Heritage New Zealand as a Category II structure, with registration number 682.

The reserve includes native bush such as pūriri, tōtara and taraire, a wetland, a quarry that was abandoned in 1957, and a viewpoint at the top of a 225 m (738 ft) hill.

[28] The local Umupuia Marae and Ngeungeu meeting house is a traditional meeting place for Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki and the Waikato Tainui hapū of Ngāti Koheriki and Ngāi Tai.

[35] The first local government in the area was the Wairoa Highway District, established in 1862, and was absorbed into the Manukau County in 1918.

Residents of Clevedon also elect the Franklin ward councillor, who sits on the Auckland Council.