Greenhithe was the location of Tauhinu, a fortified Te Kawerau ā Maki and Ngāti Whātua pā which overlooked the entrance to Oruamo or Hellyers Creek, that was settled until the 1820s.

The North Shore City Council identified Greenhithe as an area for suburban growth in 2002, leading the population to double between 2001 and 2018.

Greenhithe was the name early settler Henry James Blyth gave to the Forgham family house and orchards when he took over the property in 1882.

[3][4] It is named after Greenhithe, a village in Kent, England on the River Thames, where Blyth kept his yacht before moving to New Zealand.

[8] The suburb is bisected by State Highway 18, also known as the Upper Harbour Motorway, which links the North Shore to Hobsonville in West Auckland.

[10] Most of what is known of Greenhithe's traditional history is based on the retelling by Whatarangi Ngati of Pāremoremo in the early 20th century.

[11][12] At Greenhithe, Tauhinu was established as a fortified Te Kawerau ā Maki pā, on the southern cliffs of the peninsula.

[15] A kāinga called Te Wharemoenanu ("The House of Sleep Talking") was located at the west of the suburb, at the entrance to Lucas Creek.

[21][22] Ngāti Whātua left an ahi kā presence at Tauhinu pā, which included a small number of warriors.

[15] The first Crown land grants to European settlers in Greenhithe were to the Gamble Brothers, shoemakers from Auckland who purchased property in 1854 and 1855.

[13] The first known permanent resident was George Deane, who purchased 69 acres of land adjacent to Lucas Creek in 1858 and settled here with his wife.

[25] During this period, the western Greenhithe headland gained the name Humbug Point by shippers who worked along the Upper Waitematā Harbour area, due to the extensive sand banks that required ships to take wide detours.

[15] Calling their farmhouse Fern Bank (later Grey Oaks), the Forghams planted fruit trees and farmed livestock.

[27] The name Greenhithe became popularised in the 1880s, after Henry James Blyth, renamed the farmstead this after he took ownership of the farm in the 1880s.

[28] Thomas Hunter established the first reliable passenger and shipping service to Auckland in 1908,[29] the Greenhithe Hall was constructed in 1914, and the first store was opened in 1917.

[15] By the 1920s, the Greenhithe Hall had become the centre of social life for the area,[30] and the Jonkers family fruit canning factory was opened.

[37] As Albany and other areas of the North Shore became more popular locations for businesses in the latter 20th century, most industrial sites left Greenhithe.