It is approximately 16 km (9.9 mi) to the south west of Auckland CBD (Central Business District), and sits at the eastern edge of the Waitākere Ranges Heritage Area.

The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "place of long-lingering sun" for Ōrātia.

Sheltered from the Tasman Sea by the Waitākere Ranges, the area was traditionally dominated by forests of kauri, Phyllocladus trichomanoides (tānekaha or celery pine) and rimu, with abundant nīkau palm and silver fern.

[5] The areas adjacent to the Oratia Stream form an alluvial flood zone, preferred by tōtara, tītoki and west coast kōwhai.

[5] The area is within the traditional rohe of Te Kawerau ā Maki, an iwi that traces their ancestry to some of the earliest inhabitants of the Auckland Region.

[7][8] The area is named after the Te Kawerau ā Maki pā and kāinga, which was located near modern-day Holden's Road.

[8] Carbon dating of shell middens on the western banks of the Oratia Stream near the pā showed evidence of occupation from at least 1570.

His wife found a sunny spot in the lower Waitākere Ranges foothills, where her sunbathing was noticed by Tama-nui-te-rā, the personification of the sun.

[10] In 1845, early settlers John Bishop and Thomas Canty began felling bush in Oratia.

Sunnydale in Parker Road is the oldest surviving residence in West Auckland built around 1860 from Kauri timber milled on the site.

[13] Thomas Parr, a pioneer orchardist and nurseryman, bought a 35-acre (14 ha) section between the Oratia and Waikumete streams in 1853.

Now a Category I Listed Building, the house has been restored to its original design after being used for many years as "The Town and Country Roadhouse", which was considered to be one of the finest restaurants in Auckland in the 1940s.

Although still relatively sparsely populated compared to most of metropolitan Auckland, Oratia has developed into a community with many businesses and homes.

The Bruce McLaren Intermediate school in Henderson, named after the New Zealand racing driver, provides education for year 7 and 8 students.