[4][5] It may be named after Richard Whitford, a man who operated a flax mill on the Waikopua near Housons Creek[4] and was the postman.

[5] Others think Whitford referred to the White-ford over the Turanga Creek at the end of Sandstone Road, where the salt dries when the tide is out.

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

[9] The Tūranga Creek area was known as a traditional food source for eels (tuna), lampreys (kanakana), flounder (pātiki) and kererū.

[3] There were multiple pā and kāinga sites in the area, including Moananui, Mangemangeroa and Awakarihi (above the Whitford quarry).

[3] When William Thomas Fairburn visited the area in 1833, it was mostly unoccupied due to the events of the Musket Wars, as most members of Ngāi Tai had fled to temporary refuge in the Waikato.

[7][10] In 1836, Fairburn purchased 40,000 acres between Ōtāhuhu and Umupuia (Duders Beach), including much of the catchment of the Wairoa River.

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

[11] They started a popular and productive farm on Clifton Road near the village settlement in 1843,[4] primarily growing potatoes and employing local members of Ngāi Tai.

[4] The Trice family were followed by more settlers in the mid-1850s,[4] including Isaac and Eve Wade from Wells, Somerset.

[11] The first wooden bridge across the Mangemangeroa Creek to the west was constructed in the 1860s, better connecting the community to Auckland by road.

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

[5] Racehorses were trained in Whitford,[4] and in the 1890s the Nathan family equestrian track held large-scale racing events, which people from Auckland attended by ferry.

[3] The farming community primarily grew oats, hay, wheat, potatoes for the Auckland market.

[15] During World War II, home guard troops dug trenches in the Turanga Creek, and built tank traps around Whitford.

[17] By the early 2000s, Whitford had developed into a service centre for the surrounding rural area, and as a commuter suburb for city workers.

The results were 69.4% European (Pākehā); 10.2% Māori; 2.0% Pasifika; 26.5% Asian; and 2.0% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA).