The settlement is in the traditional rohe of Te Kawerau ā Maki.

[5] The many hills of the area were known as Ngā Rau Pou ā Maki, referring to the eponymous ancestor of the tribe.

[6] During the latter 19th century, the King brothers established a flax mill at Waitākere.

[7] In 1881, the Waitākere railway station was opened, when the North Auckland Line was extended from New Lynn to Helensville.

The results were 90.7% European (Pākehā); 14.6% Māori; 7.6% Pasifika; 5.5% Asian; 0.8% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 3.0% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander".