The ranges cover some 250 square kilometres (97 sq mi) and rise to 688 metres (2255 ft) at Kohukohunui.

[2] The ranges are located approximately 50 kilometres (30 mi) southeast of the main Auckland urban area, above the western shore of the Firth of Thames.

[9][10] Te Hūnua was a name used to describe the wider country between the Wairoa River valley and Papakura.

[9] Māori made some use of the ranges and early European visitors found areas of clearing that had been used as gardens.

[1] Early European use of the ranges was for timber extraction and for farming but low soil fertility limited success.

[1] From the 1920s onwards the land was progressively bought by Auckland City Council utilising funds from its water supply operation.

[12] Development of the water supplies commenced in 1946, with the first of the four dams, Cossey's, completed with a capacity of 11.3 million cubic meters in 1956.

[15] The bulk water supply operation and the land passed to the newly formed Auckland Regional Authority in 1964.

[15] The water operation was corporatised as Watercare Services in 1992, but the land itself remained with the Auckland Regional Council.