The stream begins in the Whitford Forest north of Brookby township, flowing south-west through farmland of the Brookby Valley, and through the suburbs of Alfriston, Randwick Park, Takanini and Manurewa.

The stream reaches the Pahurehure Inlet of the Manukau Harbour, flowing past Wattle Downs to the west and Waiata Shores to the east.

[5] By the early colonial era, the catchment of the stream was used by European settlers and Māori to harvest timber and flax.

[2] The stream was used by the Lactos Ltd factory in the 1930s as a source of water, and from 1949, the East Tamaki Co-operative Dairy Company constructed a milk powder factory on the east side of stream in Takanini.

A footbridge has been proposed to link Wattle Downs to Waiata Shores.