There are only two short roads serving settlements at Schoolhouse Bay and South Cove, and most residents have private wharves for access to their front door steps.

[3] The island is 8 by 5 km (5.0 by 3.1 mi) at its longest axes, and is almost bisected by the long inlet of Bon Accord Harbour which is geologically a "drowned valley".

Many of these lava flows were associated with hydrothermal springs, which precipitated metal sulfides and minerals rich in iron, manganese and copper.

Sea levels began to rise 7,000 years ago, after which Kawau became an island separated from the rest of New Zealand.

[5] Kawau, though providing little arable land, was well-favoured by Māori for its beautiful surrounding waters, with battles over the island common from the 17th century on.

[2] Traditional stories involve the ancestor Toi-te-huatahi naming the island Te Kawau Tu Maro, meaning the shag (cormorant) standing watch.

[4] Kawau was occupied for generations by Tāmaki Māori tribes including Te Kawerau and Ngāi Tai.

A defensive pā, Momona, is found on the island, located in the south-west along the ridge close to modern-day Mansion House.

Grey's wallaby introduction however had some minor indirect benefit in the early 2000s, when species from the island were introduced into Australia's Innes National Park to boost genetic diversity.

[10][11] Until then it was considered hopeless to reverse the considerable ecological damage caused by the introduced animal and plant species, and Kawau was said to be of historical rather than botanical importance.

The Trust's plan is to eradicate all introduced animal pests in stages starting firstly with wallabies, possums and stoats.

Pest removal and the eradication of certain weed species and control others, will enable sustainable land use in a restored ecological setting of native flora and fauna.

Both Wallaby and Possum numbers have been steadily since 1985 through sustained control, saving the coastal pōhutukawa tree, a New Zealand icon.

From a period when possum numbers were at plague proportions across the island they are effectively absent form the private landowners properties.

After assisting with capturing all of the rare brushtail rock wallabies that could economically be recovered from the private land for relocation to a successful captive breeding program established by Waterfall Springs Conservation Association in Wahroonga, Australia, Pohutukawa Trust New Zealand is now humanely eradicating the remaining wallabies from the island, to enable ecological restoration (mainly by natural regeneration).

Following the successful removal of Wallaby and Opossum other animal pests the Trust intends to eradicate in stages as resources enable included, feral cats, and ship rats.

Exotic plants unpalatable to the wallabies have become serious invasive weeds on the island, and the Trust's plans include eradication or control of these also as part of the ecological restoration process.

The Pohutukawa Trust New Zealand received a Green Ribbon Award from the Ministry for the Environment in 2003 "for outstanding leadership and commitment to environmental protection".

The results were 89.1% European (Pākehā); 13.0% Māori; 4.3% Pasifika; and 2.2% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA).