[6] The Tāmaki Māori name for the bay literally means "putrid ripples", and may be a reference to the smell of mudflats.

[1] The sandspits located at the bay are a traditionally significant site (wāhi tapu) called Te Ringa Kaha ō Manu.

[7] Karepiro Bay was the site of a battle during the Te Kawerau ā Maki conquest of the northern Auckland Region.

Their house, the Dacre Cottage, was built circa 1855 from locally made bricks, located on the shores of Karepiro Bay.

[4] Local residents have documented increased sedimentation in the 2010s leading to a loss of marine life, which led to protests in 2018.