[5] The creek formed an important part of the Waokauri / Pūkaki portage, connecting the Manukau Harbour and Tāmaki River via Papatoetoe, and was often used by Tāmaki Māori to avoid the Te Tō Waka and Karetu portages, controlled by the people who lived at Ōtāhuhu / Mount Richmond.

When the Waiohua people began to re-establish themselves in the Tāmaki Makaurau area in the later 18th century, most settled around the Manukau Harbour and South Auckland.

[12] Nixon arrested his neighbour, the Te Ākitai Waiohua rangatira Īhaka Takaanini, who later died on Rākino Island.

[12] Te Ākitai Waiohua began returning to the area in 1866, settling to the west of Pukaki Creek and at Ihumātao.

[13] The Gocks began to cultivate kūmara (sweet potatoes), using plant donated to them by their neighbours at Pūkaki Marae.