[5] Ōpanuku refers to one of the oldest Te Kawerau ā Maki ancestors, Panuku, the wife of Parekura who died after being kidnapped by a warrior named Nihotupu.

[6][4] Te Kawerau ā Maki had a settlement along the Opanuku Stream known as Ōpareira.

[6] The name refers to Pareira, the niece of early ancestor and voyager Toi-te-huatahi.

[6] The Opanuku Stream which flows down the valley was one of the earliest waterways to be dammed for kauri logging in West Auckland, in the 1850s.

[8][9] In the 1920s, the Henderson Valley Scenic Reserve/Carey Park was a popular picnic and swimming area known as Ferndale, where the Brown Owl Tea Rooms was located.

The results were 86.9% European (Pākehā); 14.3% Māori; 7.8% Pasifika; 7.4% Asian; 0.8% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.3% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander".