It contains the settlements of Hannahs Clearing, Waiatoto, Neils Beach, and the fishing village of Jackson Bay at its western end.

Māori harvested fish and seals, and gathered the valuable pounamu (greenstone) that originated in the Red Hills inland.

[4] When the explorer John Boultbee visited the bay in 1826, the settlement's population was about 300, but it had declined by the time Europeans began to settle the area, and was abandoned in 1866.

Flat land was hard to come by and was infertile and frequently flooded; the rainfall, sandflies, and isolation took their toll; and there was no wharf or road.

The waters off the coast are particularly productive, marking the convergence of the cool West Wind Drift and the warm Westland Current.

Within 60 km (37 mi), the first of the deep glacial valleys that further south become the fiords of Fiordland start to become evident, with Lake McKerrow at the foot of the Hollyford Track.

[4] The settlement contains about 30 dwellings, but few permanent residents, and in the summer so many recreational fishers come with their boats from Central Otago or Queenstown for a weekend's fishing that local iwi Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio have discussed setting up mataitai (marine reserves).

[6] The stretch of coastline from Jackson Head for about 10 km (6.2 mi) westwards to the mouth of the Stafford River has been identified as an Important Bird Area because it supports a breeding population of Fiordland penguins.