Onehunga lies on the Auckland isthmus, on the northern shore of Mangere Inlet, an arm of the Manukau Harbour, and just south of the volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill.

[4] Onehunga's southwestern side, near the Manukau Harbour, lost its direct waterfront access when the Southwest Motorway was built there in the 1970s.

Only a tidal lagoon remains on the city side, though in 2008, there were proposals that the motorway (which was to be widened) could be sunk into a trench to provide direct access to the harbour again.

[5] In 2013, a project was underway to restore the Onehunga foreshore,[6] to be connected to the city-side park by a pedestrian and cycle bridge over State Highway 20.

[7] While most of Auckland's potable water comes from reservoirs in the Hunua and Waitākere Ranges, or from the Waikato River, the Onehunga aquifer provides around 5%.

[9][10] He said that the name was actually Oneunga (Oneūnga in modern orthography), meaning one (beach or sand) ūnga (landing), in reference to canoes being drawn up there.

[12][13] Onehunga was close to one of the richest areas of the Auckland isthmus, and saw many battles between Māori groups in pre-European times.

[3] In the late 1830s, before Europeans arrived in larger numbers in the area, it was the main settlement for Ngāti Whātua, who had moved back to the northern shore of the Manukau Harbour after retreating to the Waikato during the Musket Wars.

The Fencibles were former soldiers, many of them Irish, who were granted land to settle on, with the implied understanding that if Māori threatened the Auckland isthmus, they would defend it.

[14] The Manukau Harbour was treacherous however (as evidenced by the sinking of HMS Orpheus in 1863, killing 180 people) but the coastal Steamship lines carried virtually all passenger and freight trade between Auckland and Wellington via Wanganui and Onehunga.

Until 1908 a steamer from Onehunga was the fastest means of travel from Auckland to Wellington, the capital of the colony (initially the sea journey went all the way, then later it connected to the New Plymouth Express instead).

[23] By the First World War Onehunga was no longer an important commercial port, this was partly because of a general increase in the size of ships, which meant the Waitematā Harbour was favoured especially as it was wider and deeper.

More significant however was the completion of the North Island Main Trunk railway in 1908 – this effectively made the coastal passenger and freight steamship trade on both coasts of the country largely unprofitable.

The port does still serve coastal traders and some local fishing, there is also a cement and sand company which maintains facilities at Onehunga.

As the centre of the Auckland isthmus became covered by suburban developments the Onehunga foreshore became an attraction for families from Mount Eden, Epsom and One Tree Hill.

After the Municipal Abattoir was relocated from Freeman's Bay to Westfield and Southdown, Onehunga started to suffer from the toxic discharges the freezing works pumped into the harbour.

[14] This effectively put an end to Onehunga's emerging role as a seaside resort and also made it a less attractive place to live.

However, the zoological garden that John James Boyd created near today's Royal Oak did not meet with local approval – mainly due to concerns about the smells and crowds.

The old volcanic basin that used to link to the Manukau Harbour was filled in, with shorelines reclaimed and straightened for human use (Port of Onehunga, industrial uses and sports fields).

[46] This loss of amenity and space was one of the major complaints of local groups during negotiations over further motorway widening connected to the Māngere Bridge duplication.

The sum is to fund a large-scale new shoreline west of the motorway, connected to downtown Onehunga with new pedestrian/cyclebridges, and creating 11ha of new beach and headland landscape.

[47] In mid-2011, the plans for the restoration works were clarified further, and provided for public comment, setting out a 6.4-hectare (16-acre) reclamation area with sanded beaches, new green open space and several new headlands.

[46] The newly named Taumanu Reserve was officially opened to the public on 14 November 2015, in an event attended by over a thousand people.

In 1973, Queen St was closed to through traffic, and on 2 April 1973 was renamed Onehunga Mall and reopened as a pedestrian shopping precinct.

The churchyard contains the graves of many of Onehunga's early settlers such as first woman Mayor of the British Empire, Elizabeth Yates and some of the dead from the Wreck of the HMS Orpheus.

It was designed by Architect Thomas Mahoney in Gothic Revival style and built by local bricklayer William Kemp.

[67][66] Located on Onehunga Harbour Road, the now, Aotea Sea Scout Den, was built in 1911 by John Park for the Manukau Yacht and Motor Boat Club.

[55] The building was constructed by G M Hancock and designed by architects to the Auckland Education Board, John Mitchell and Robert Watt.

Made from native kauri, in a Queen Anne Revival style, the building served as a school for 80 years and from 1981 used as a community space.

The venue has hosted important events, including the North Island final round of the Speedway World Championship in 1992.