Since 2010, New Lynn has been the focus of large-scale urban development, with the introduction of medium and high density housing close to the town centre and train station.

The New Lynn area and the Whau River are a part of the traditional rohe of Te Kawerau ā Maki, an iwi that traces their ancestry to some of the earliest inhabitants of the Auckland Region.

[5][6] The Whau River was a borderland, marking the division of lands between Te Kawerau ā Maki and the Tāmaki Māori iwi of the Auckland isthmus: Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and in earlier times, Waiohua.

Te Tōanga Waka, one of the most important portages in the area, allowed for waka to be transported between the two harbours, along the Whau River, the Avondale Stream (Wai Tahurangi), and a short overland path, marked in modern times by a road named Portage Road.

[17] The first European settlers arrived in the area in the 1850s, primarily farmers and people involved with the kauri logging and gum digging industries.

Boats could only operate in the port during narrow stretches of time at high tide, and otherwise rested in the mud of the river.

[18] Many of the ceramics companies failed due to the 1880s depression, competition, and changing preferences to use wood rather than bricks for construction.

[20][21] Two years later, Alfred Ramsden constructed the New Lynn Hotel on Great North Road,[20] which closed in 1908 due to their liquor license lapsing during the temperance movement in New Zealand.

[24][25] In the early 1900s, a group of citizens led by Archibald Grandison lobbied the Waitemata County for New Lynn to become an independent town district.

Grandison and his supporters felt that New Lynn would grow as an outer city suburb of Auckland in the future, and had very different needs to the majority of the rural communities in the county.

[29] The Astley Tannery, which first opened in 1888, became one of the largest employers in New Lynn during World War I when demand for leather goods significantly increased.

[17] Industrial waste from the tannery and neighbouring abattoir was discharged directly into the Whau River, becoming a major source of pollution for the waterway.

[17] In 1926, the Delta Theatre opened in New Lynn, becoming a focal point of the community, holding a range of events including film showings, live entertainment and dances.

[17][34] A new bridge crossing the Whau River was completed in December 1931, replacing the older wooden structures on Great North Road.

[16] During World War II, New Lynn was considered a vulnerable area by the government, due to the brickworks and its proximity to the border of Auckland City.

Because of this, concrete machine gun posts and barbed wire were installed along the railway between Portage Road and St Georges Road, tank traps were built in the area, and air raid shelters were built at the corner of Margan and Seabrooke Avenues.

[36] Due to restrictions on the importation of British goods during the war, the Amalgamated Brick and Pottery began mass-producing crockery for the New Zealand market,[37] growing to become one of the largest brick and ceramics companies in the Southern Hemisphere, known for their Crown Lynn pottery range.

[38] The ceramics industry led to widescale immigration of Pasifika New Zealanders to the area during the 1960s and 1970s, many of whom were employed at the Crown Lynn Potteries factories.

[40] In 1978, a new bridge across the Whau River was built along Rata Street, acting as a bypass to divert traffic away from New Lynn and Great North Road.

[17] On 17 July 1981, the Jack McCorquindale Community Centre opened in New Lynn, named after a former borough mayor.

[83] New Lynn has had ready road access to the Auckland CBD since the Northwestern Motorway and an expressway through Waterview were completed in the late 1970s.