[4] The Māngere East area formed an important part of the Waokauri / Pūkaki portage, connecting the Manukau Harbour and Tāmaki River via Papatoetoe, and was often used by Tāmaki Māori to avoid the Te Tō Waka and Karetu portages, controlled by the people who lived at Ōtāhuhu / Mount Richmond.

[6][7] In January 1836 missionary William Thomas Fairburn brokered a land sale between Tāmaki Māori chiefs, Pōtatau Te Wherowhero and Turia of Ngāti Te Rau, covering the majority of modern-day South Auckland between Ōtāhuhu and Papakura.

The sale was envisioned as a way to end hostilities in the area, but it is unclear what the chiefs understood or consented to.

[8] Until the 1860s, the Māori population of the Manukau Harbour and Waikato areas produced goods to sell or barter at the port of Onehunga.

[10]: 3  On 9 July 1863, due to fears of the Māori King Movement, Governor Grey proclaimed that all Māori living in the South Auckland area needed to swear loyalty to the Queen and give up their weapons.

Most people refused due to strong links to Tainui, leaving for the south before the Government's Invasion of the Waikato.

[11]: 68 [10]: 4  In 1862, the first local government was established in the area, with the formation of the Mangerei Highway Board.

[14] Māngere East began to develop as a suburban area after the opening of the Otahuhu Railway Workshops in the late 1920s.

[12] Ten years later, the Māngere East town district was absorbed into the newly established Manukau City.

[34] De La Salle College is a state-integrated boys' Catholic secondary school (years 7–13) with a roll of 937.

Residents of Māngere East, regardless of local board, also elect two Manukau ward councillors to sit on the Auckland Council.