Ōwairaka is the southern portion of the old Mount Roskill borough, bordered in the south by the Oakley Creek and the Southwestern Motorway.

The name refers to Wairaka, an early Māori ancestor, who was the daughter of Toroa, the captain of the Mātaatua voyaging waka.

[3] Wairaka fled to Auckland to escape an unwanted marriage, and established her people on the volcano.

Ōwairaka / Mount Albert was the western-most hill-top pā of Waiohua and had extensive terraces and cultivations, although not as many as Maungakiekie or Maungawhau to the east.

Ngāti Whātua had a much smaller population than the Waiohua, and seaside areas were preferred places to live.

[3] On 29 June 1841, Ōwairaka was sold to the Crown by Ngāti Whātua, as a part of a 12,000 acre section.

[9] In 1943, the Owairaka Athletic Club was established at Anderson Park, before moving to the Lovelock Track in Mount Roskill in 1961.

[10][11] During the 1960s the club came to prominence in middle- and long-distance running under coach Arthur Lydiard,[12] producing international and national champions including Murray Halberg[13] and the New Zealand Athlete of the Century, Peter Snell.

[14] Ōwairaka became a centre for Māori and Pasifika communities in the 1970s, after gentrification caused families to move from Auckland's central suburbs.

The residents of Albert-Eden elect a local board, and two councillors from the Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa ward to sit on the Auckland Council.