The area covers townships south of the Tāmaki Strait: Whitford, Beachlands, Maraetai and Umupuia.

[3][4] Kawakawa Bay is occasionally included in the definition,[5][6] and sometimes locations as far as the Firth of Thames, such as Ōrere Point and Tāpapakanga Regional Park.

[3] The Pōhutukawa Coast is primarily formed from Jurassic age Waipapa Group greywacke, as well as Holocene alluvial deposits.

[12] The coast borders the Tāmaki Strait, an area of the Hauraki Gulf sheltered by Waiheke and Ponui islands.

It is composed of Waitemata sandstone, and formed between one and two million years ago as a section of a river valley.

[19] Tainui followers of Manawatere, who identified as Ngā Oho, decided to settle the area between the Pōhutukawa Coast and Tūwakamana (Cockle Bay).

Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, the mana whenua of the area, descend from these early settlers.

[18] During the 1820s, most members of Ngāi Tai fled to the Waikato due to the threats of the Musket Wars, however by the 1830s many had returned.

[26] Fairburn established the Maraetai Mission Station in 1837, where he taught reading, writing and spread Christianity among Ngāi Tai and Ngāti Pāoa.

[29] Fairburn's Purchase was investigated by the New Zealand Land Commission in 1841 and 1842 and found to be excessive and reduced in size.

[30] In 1842, Ngeungeu, daughter of the Ngāi Tai chief Tara Te Irirangi, moved back to Umupuia with her family, after her husband, Scottish mariner Thomas Maxwell in the Bay of Islands, died.

For the remainder of the war, Ngāi Tai were designated as a "friendly" people by the Crown, and remained neutral in the fighting.

[33] Other farms grew oats, hay, wheat, potatoes for the Auckland market,[34] and other industries developed, including brickworks and mines.

In the early 20th century, a fire burnt down the mill and the meeting house, Hārata Kīngi.

[38] From the 1950s to the early 1970s, Beachlands and Maraetai grew significantly, transitioning from seasonal holiday towns to permanent residential communities.

[29][39] The Pine Harbour marina was constructed in 1988,[40] becoming a major transport hub for the area, linking the Pōhutukawa Coast to Auckland by ferry.