A landmark is Smales Mountain which in 2010 has the remains of an old Pā, a stone field garden, an early church, and farm homestead.

Like most of Auckland, the East Tāmaki landscape is volcanic in origin and forms a part of what is known as the East Tāmaki volcanic field, with Te Puke o Tara and Mātanginui (Greenmount) having been the dominant cones of Ōtara.

Mātangi nui was also a pā site, not too far from Puke I Āki Rangi (Point View) which connected the Mangemangeroa Valley, and the areas surrounding all three cones were thought to represent the densest area of pre-European settlement in East Tāmaki, favoured rich volcanic gardening soils and fresh water springs.

The name recalls Mrs Styaks home at Randalstown in Northern Ireland, which was called Green Bank.

The results were 33.8% European (Pākehā); 6.1% Māori; 8.8% Pasifika; 52.9% Asian; 5.5% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 5.0% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander".

East Tāmaki is the largest industrial precinct in Auckland,[21] a manufacturing and distribution hub of 2,000 businesses contributing $3 billion for the New Zealand economy each year, $19 million in rates annually, and 30,000 jobs with projected jobs of 45,000 on completion of Highbrook Business Park.

It is consistently one of Auckland's highest performing industrial property areas, and has a higher growth rate than the regional average.