In the 1940s, the park became a training centre for soldiers in World War II, and in 1970 hosted Redwood 70, the first modern music festival in New Zealand.

[4][5] Prior to human settlement, the Swanson area formed a part of the warm lowlands ecosystem common in inland West Auckland, dominated by kauri, rimu, rātā, kahikatea and rewarewa.

The areas adjacent to the Swanson Stream were an alluvial flood zone, favoured by kahikatea and tōtara trees.

[7] A defensive pā was found in the hills above Swanson called Pukearuhe ("Bracken Fern Hill"), and the Swanson area formed part of the walking track between Te Henga / Bethells Beach and Wai Huruhuru Manawa (Huruhuru Creek) tidal inlet, the south-western section of the Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek.

[10] Te Kawerau ā Maki suffered hardships in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, due to influenza and the Musket Wars of the 1820s.

When the iwi returned to their traditional lands in the 1830s, life was focused at Te Henga / Bethells Beach.

[11] Much of West Auckland near was sold to European purchasers in the 1850s, without the knowledge or consent of the senior rangatira of Te Kawerau ā Maki.

[9] The township of Swanson was established in the mid-1880s, with many of the first residents receiving land cheaply through government settlement regimes intended to develop the area.

[15] Many early residents in the area established farms and orchards, supplementing their income with kauri gum digging.

In the late 19th century, Croatian New Zealand immigrants (then commonly known as Dalmatian) worked land at Swanson, with kauri gum digging operations which were more intensive and systematic than previous efforts.

[17] The school was the centre of the community during the late 19th century, and was a place where religious services, concerts and meetings were held.

[22] The town further developed in the late 1910s and 1920s when the New Zealand Government balloted and divided kauri gum reverse land.

[23] By the 1920s, sheep and cattle farming had become more common in the area, and after the Swanson School moved locations, the town was no longer centred around the railway station.

[24] On 23 May 1929, the Swanson town hall was built, which held community events such as Saturday night dances and film screenings.

In early 1940, Redwood Park was acquisitioned by the New Zealand Army as a training camp for soldiers during World War II.

Held over two days and drawing over 9,000 attendees, the concert was mired by rowdy crowds, and was unable to make promoter Phil Warren a profit.

[22] In 1984, the Waitemata City opened a balefill landfill north of Swanson, causing the town's residents to have issues with wind-blown refuse and methane.

[37] In 1974, Swanson became a part of the Waitemata City, an area which covered most of West Auckland, excluding the boroughs of Henderson, Glen Eden and New Lynn.