It is the easternmost of the Taipa-Mangonui string of settlements, separated from Coopers Beach to the northwest by Mill Bay Road.

[7] The settlement began to serve the whalers at the beginning of the 19th century, and expanded into a trading port with kauri sawmills and farming.

The port lost importance as roads improved and industries declined in the 1950s.

[8] The first European settler is considered to be James David Berghan from Ireland, who arrived in Mangonui in 1831.

Other settlers developed farms and businesses in the area while some married into the native population.

The dynamic mix of settlers coming from various parts of Europe and the Maori population provided Mangonui with a rich heritage.

Mangōnui is part of the larger Doubtless Bay statistical area.

The results were 76.3% European (Pākehā); 39.7% Māori; 2.7% Pasifika; 2.7% Asian; 0.9% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.8% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander".