It is sited 40 kilometres (25 mi) northwest of Auckland, close to the southern extremity of the Kaipara Harbour.

Tāmaki Māori settled the southern Kaipara Harbour in the 13th or 14th centuries, drawn by the marine and forest resources.

By the early 18th century, Ngāti Whātua, who had traditional ties to the area, had re-established themselves along the Kaipara River.

Helensville was established as a kauri logging settlement in 1862, developing into a regional centre for the south Kaipara by the 1870s.

Some of the crew members, including Rongomai, Mawete and Po, settled at Tāporapora, with the descendants of Toi, who already lived in the area.

[19] Tāporapora was a fertile sandy land that gradually eroded west of the Okahukura Peninsula, of which Manukapua Island is a remnant.

[25] Around the 15th century, a group known as Ngāti Awa who descended from the Mātaatua waka settled Te Korowai-o-Te-Tonga Peninsula, led by Tītahi.

A descendant of Tītahi, Hauparoa, asked his relative Maki, a renowned warrior who lived at the Kāwhia Harbour, to help Ngāti Awa secure the region.

[29] Maki conquered and unified many of the Tāmaki Māori tribes, including Ngā Oho of the south Kaipara and West Auckland.

[29] Maki chose the southern Kaipara as his base of operations, and his children migrated to different areas of the northern and western Auckland Region.

Hostilities broke out and Ngāti Whātua asked for assistance from Kāwharu, a famed Tainui warrior from Kawhia.

Kāwharu's repeated attacks of the Waitākere Ranges settlements became known as Te Raupatu Tīhore, or the stripping conquest.

[33] Ngāti Whātua divided the land among different hapū, including Te Taoū, who were a major power in the Kaipara River catchment.

Kiwi Tāmaki, paramount chief of Waiohua, led a surprise attack in the south Kaipara during an uhunga (funeral rite commemoration), in response for past grievances and to assist a Ngāti Whātua faction who were opposed to Te Taoū.

[37][32] By 1741, Ngāti Whātua had successfully fought against Kiwi Tāmaki, and members of Te Taoū established themselves on the Auckland isthmus.

[34] An early skirmish between Te Taoū and Ngāpuhi during the Musket Wars occurred at Paehoka, south of Helensville, likely in the late 18th century.

[38] Conflict continued through the early 19th century, and in 1818 English missionary Samuel Marsden witnessed Ngāti Whātua of the Kaipara River being attacked from the north.

[17] Following the battle of Te Ika a Ranganui at Kaiwaka, Ngāti Whātua fled the area, except for a small contingent who remained for ahi kā (visible land occupation).

[17] After the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840, Ngāti Whātua operated coastal trading vessels, supplying goods to early European settlers at Auckland.

[6] In 1862, Nova Scotian settler John McLeod established a kauri timber mill on the eastern banks of the Kaipara River, at the modern-day site of Helensville.

[8] By 1870, Helensville had become the main trading centre and transportation junction for the Kaipara Harbour settlements to the north.

[39] From 1875 to 1881, a short-lived section of railway operated between Kumeū, south of Helensville, and the village of Riverhead, on the upper shores of the Waitematā Harbour.

This was the first church in the wider southern Kaipara area, serving the surrounding rural communities such as Kumeū and Waimauku.

[42] In 1882, the first bridge across the Kaipara River was constructed at Te Horo Point, with the intention of this opening up farmland to the west.

By 1900, almost the entire southern Kaipara area had been alienated from Ngāti Whātua, and only 10% of their traditional rohe had been retained.

[46] Additionally, tourists were drawn to Helensville in the early 20th century, due to the Parakai thermal springs.

[47] The dairy factory closed in the late 1980s, due to a decline in farming profitability in the area.

[51] Helensville Rural statistical area surrounds the settlement and covers 56.41 km2 (21.78 sq mi).

[68] Tau Te Arohanoa Akoranga is a satellite campus of the state-integrated Kingsway School, offering a Christian-based education.