Settled by Tāmaki Māori in the 13th or 14th centuries, the Waitematā Harbour headlands became important places for harvesting seasonal resources and for controlling transportation across the region.

European settlers arrived in the North Shore in the 1840s, and by the turn of the 20th century, the inland area has become a hub for fruit growing, while the eastern coast had developed into a tourism destination for Aucklanders.

The lava solidified into basalt rock, creating the Takapuna Fossil Forest, which was exposed an estimated 7,000 years ago due to coastal erosion.

Oruamo or Hellyers Creek flows through the central west North Shore, separating Glenfield and Beach Haven from Greenhithe in the north-west.

[46] The southern Devonport peninsula was formerly a presque-isle, only joined to the mainland at Narrow Neck by a small spit, until much of Ngataringa Bay was reclaimed for the Waitemata Golf Course in the 1870s.

[68] Boat Rock (Te Nihokiore, "The Rat's Tooth") in the Waitematā Harbour southwest of Birkenhead was a location of great significance to Tāmaki Māori.

[70] While the poor soils of the central North Shore acted as a barrier to agriculture and settlement,[31][71] people settled the coastal margins, most notably the volcanic south-east, Long Bay (Te Oneroa ō Kahu), Kauri Point in Chatswood,[70] and Tauhinu at Greenhithe.

[79] By the early 18th century, the Marutūāhu iwi Ngāti Paoa had expanded their influence to include the islands of the Hauraki Gulf and the North Shore.

[81] The ancestor Kapetaua was marooned at Te Toka-o-Kapetaua (Bean Rock) as a child by his brother-in-law Taramokomoko, Waiohua chief of Kohimarama Pā, as punishment for stealing from kūmara pits.

Around the year 1700, Kapetaua formed a taua and pursued Taramokomoko, leading to the sacking of pā around the North Shore,[82][83] including Te Rahopara o Peretū (Castor Bay),[84] Onewa (Northcote),[85] and Tauhinu (Greenhithe).

[90][91] The leader of the northern alliance, Te Hōtete (father of Hongi Hika) settled at Takapuna for a period, returning to the north after peace with Ngāti Paoa had been made.

[91] The earliest known European to visit the North Shore was French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville, who anchored the Astrolabe at Torpedo Bay in 1827.

Lottin, the ship's surveyor, climbed Takarunga / Mount Victoria, and noted the pā fortifications, huts and stonefield gardens in the area.

[89] Ngāti Whātua left an ahi kā presence at Tauhinu pā in Greenhithe: a small number of warriors posted to maintain claim to land.

[31] The earliest private land sales took place on 17 April 1837, when Ngāti Whātua rangatira Nanihi and Tuire sold Te Pukapuka, a 320 acres (130 ha) block to American whaler William Webster, at the northeastern headwaters of Oruamo or Hellyers Creek, near Bayview.

Webster on-sold the land to Thomas Hellyer on 13 October 1840, who established the Retreat, a house which included a kauri sawpit, a hut, and a workshop.

[107][108] Her husband Eruera Maihi Patuone was a Ngāpuhi chief, who spent time between different trading posts across the Hauraki Gulf, including Waiheke and Devonport.

[108] The settlement at Te Haukapua (Torpedo Bay) was known for gardens of potatoes and cabbages, pig farming, and as a place where shark meat was suspended to dry.

[114] The inner North Shore was covered in a mix of mānuka and bracken fern scrubland, and dense forests,[115] which over time developed into sheep and cattle farms.

[116] In 1852, the Crown granted 110 acres (45 ha) of land south of Lake Pupuke to Barry's Point / Awataha to Eruera Maihi Patuone.

Patuone seen as trusted presence by the colonial government,[31] and he was gifted land in order to create a shield for the City of Auckland against the threat of potential invasion from northern and Hauraki tribes.

[31] The mid to late-20th century saw an influx in Urban Māori populations, alongside immigrants from the Pacific Islands, the Netherlands and Britain, many drawn by industrial jobs and by the seaside atmosphere of the eastern bays,[141][31] or to the semi-rural lifestyle blocks around Albany.

[142] In 1963, the Second National Government of New Zealand requisitioned 1,500 acres (610 ha) of Albany under the Public Works Act, in order to construct a state housing project.

[144] The Upper Harbour Bridge was opened in 1975, connecting the North Shore to West Auckland, and leading to the development of Greenhithe and the surrounding areas.

[195] As with the greater Auckland area, there has been much discussion regarding the problem at both national and local government levels, but very little concrete action, mostly related to the high cost and difficulty of providing additional crossings over the Waitematā Harbour.

Several options for new bridges and tunnels have been studied in depth, but at the moment, the official position is to mitigate congestion effects instead of providing new infrastructure.

[202] A number of North Shore suburbs have a regular ferry service operated by Fullers360 to the Auckland CBD, including Devonport, Stanley Bay, Bayswater, Birkenhead.

"[204] The North Shore was first administered by highway districts, which operated from the 1860s onwards, pooling local residents' resources in order to improve infrastructure.

[207] When the dissolution of the county began to be discussed, a new body was proposed for the western North Shore, formed from the growing centres of Albany and Glenfield, which the ARA predicted would have a greater population than Takapuna City by 1986.

A number of retailers like Westfield are building or have built "super stores" in the area, anticipating ongoing commercial growth and expansion.