Māori history

The Auckland Region has been settled by Māori since around the 13th or 14th centuries.^[14] Māori legends describe supernatural beings, the Tūrehu, as being the inhabitants of the area prior to Māori settlement.^[15][16] The Kaipara Harbour is associated with the Tūrehu Tumutumuwhenua and his wife Kui, of whom Ngāti Whātua (the modern-day iwi of the harbour) consider to be ancestors.^[17][18]

One of the earliest known iwi to settled in the area are Te Tini o Maruiwi, who descend from Maruiwi, captain of the Kahutara, one of the first migratory waka, and migrated north into the Kaipara Harbour.^[17][19] Ngāti Whātua traditions tell of the Māhuhu-ki-te-rangi migratory waka arriving at the Kaipara Harbour. Some of the crew members, including Rongomai, Mawete and Po, settled at Tāporapora, with the descendants of Toi, who already lived in the area.^[19] Tāporapora was a fertile sandy land that gradually eroded west of the Okahukura Peninsula, of which Manukapua Island is a remnant.^[20][21]

People were drawn to the southern Kaipara Harbour due to its rich resources from the harbour and surrounding kauri-dominated forests.^[17] Based on archaeological findings, many of the earliest people to come to the area caught moa.^[22] The southern Kaipara was an important transportation node due to Te Tōangaroa, a portage where waka could be hauled between the Kaipara Harbour and the Waitematā Harbour, via the Kaipara River and Kumeū River.^[23][24] Major settlements in the area were typically upland of the Kaipara River, due to the swampy ground immediately beside the river, and the Ohirangi wetlands (Te Tareminga were used to trap moa in ancient times).^[8]

Known traditional names for the area include Tungoutungou, which describes the meandering Kaipara River near Helensville, and further upstream near the Helensville Bridge was known as Te Pu a Tangihua.^[8]

Over time, many Tāmaki Māori developed the tribal identity Ngā Oho.^[25] Around the 15th century, a group known as Ngāti Awa who descended from the Mātaatua waka settled Te Korowai-o-Te-Tonga Peninsula, led by Tītahi. The iwi were prominent constructors of terraced pā.^[17] Over 18 pā sites can be found in the Helensville area,^[8] which likely represent some of the earliest fortified pā in Auckland.^[26] Ōtakanini pā, located near Parkhurst northwest of Helensville, has been dated to at least 1400AD.^[27][28]

By the mid-17th century, Ngāti Awa and Ngā Oho struggled to control territory. A descendant of Tītahi, Hauparoa, asked his relative Maki, a renowned warrior who lived at the Kāwhia Harbour, to help Ngāti Awa secure the region.^[29] Maki conquered and unified many of the Tāmaki Māori tribes, including Ngā Oho of the south Kaipara and West Auckland.^[29][30] After an incident where Maki unsuccessfully asked a slave steal kūmara from Hauparoa's storage pits, Maki attacked Ngāti Awa.^[29] Over time, Maki's descendants became known as Te Kawerau ā Maki; a name that references the kūmara incident.^[29] Maki chose the southern Kaipara as his base of operations, and his children migrated to different areas of the northern and western Auckland Region.^[29]

Early colonial era

After the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840, Ngāti Whātua operated coastal trading vessels, supplying goods to early European settlers at Auckland.^[17] Large areas of the southern Kaipara harbour were purchased by the Crown between 1853 and 1865, in part due to Ngāti Whātua's hope that this would lead to Europeans settlements developing and stimulate the economy of the area.^[6]

In 1862, Nova Scotian settler John McLeod established a kauri timber mill on the eastern banks of the Kaipara River, at the modern-day site of Helensville.^[8][3] McLeod named his house "Helen's Villa", after his wife, which became the name for the township that developed around the timber mill.^[8] McLeod milled the kauri on the lands adjacent to his timber mill,^[8] and after a few years, Ngāti Whātua established a kāinga on the opposite banks.^[17]

The town grew based on the kauri timber industry and kauri gum collection.^[17] In 1865, the road from Riverhead to Helensville was improved,^[6] and pastoral farms were developed in the 1870s.^[8] By 1870, Helensville had become the main trading centre and transportation junction for the Kaipara Harbour settlements to the north.^[39] From 1875 to 1881, a short-lived section of railway operated between Kumeū, south of Helensville, and the village of Riverhead, on the upper shores of the Waitematā Harbour.^[40] This led to increased economic activity in Helensville, which developed into a township and became an economic hub.^[6] In 1881, the North Auckland Line was extended to Helensville, leading to the opening of the Helensville railway station.^[41]

In 1879, St Matthew's Anglican Church was established in Helensville. This was the first church in the wider southern Kaipara area, serving the surrounding rural communities such as Kumeū and Waimauku.^[42] In 1882, the first bridge across the Kaipara River was constructed at Te Horo Point, with the intention of this opening up farmland to the west.^[43]

Between 1865 and 1900, the Native Land Court individuated collectively-owned Ngāti Whātua lands, a gradual process which led to land alienation. By 1900, almost the entire southern Kaipara area had been alienated from Ngāti Whātua, and only 10% of their traditional rohe had been retained.^[6]

Dairy industry and tourism

The Kauri logging and gum industries went into decline by 1900, disappearing by 1920.^[6][44] The Helensville Show, an annual agricultural show, was established in 1900, becoming a major part of life at Helensville, and drawing people from the surrounding areas to the town.^[45] In 1911, the Kaipara Dairy Company was established in Helensville, becoming the town's largest employer,^[3] and the town flourished due to the dairy industry and sheep farms.^[46] Additionally, tourists were drawn to Helensville in the early 20th century, due to the Parakai thermal springs.^[3]

In 1927, St Matthew's Anglican Church was rebuilt after a new larger church was required.^[42] During the 1930s, an exotic pine forest called the Woodhill Forest was established on the Te Korowai-o-Te-Tonga Peninsula, becoming an important industry for the area.^[6] During World War II, the 15th Battalion of the Home Guard was based at Helensville.^[47]

The dairy factory closed in the late 1980s, due to a decline in farming profitability in the area.^[3] The sand extraction industry became a major employer in the town, after Mt Rex and Winstone established processing facilities near the town in the 1990s.^[48]

In 2009, the Helensville railway station was closed for passenger services.^[49]

Rural surrounds

Helensville Rural statistical area surrounds the settlement and covers 56.41 km² (21.78 sq mi).^[1] It had an estimated population of 1,680 as of June 2023,^[2] with a population density of 30 people per km².

Before the 2023 census, Helensville Rural had a larger boundary, covering 56.92 km² (21.98 sq mi).^[1] Using that boundary, Helensville Rural had a population of 1,524 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 189 people (14.2%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 315 people (26.1%) since the 2006 census. There were 498 households, comprising 771 males and 753 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.02 males per female. The median age was 42.4 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 306 people (20.1%) aged under 15 years, 264 (17.3%) aged 15 to 29, 771 (50.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 183 (12.0%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 93.7% European/Pākehā, 11.6% Māori, 3.0% Pacific peoples, 2.8% Asian, and 1.4% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 21.7, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 61.6% had no religion, 28.3% were Christian, 0.8% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.2% were Muslim, 0.4% were Buddhist and 2.4% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 225 (18.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 195 (16.0%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $40,100, compared with $31,800 nationally. 300 people (24.6%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 672 (55.2%) people were employed full-time, 180 (14.8%) were part-time, and 42 (3.4%) were unemployed.^[51]

Local

From 1876 until 1947, Helensville was administered by the Waitemata County, a large rural county north and west of the city of Auckland.^[52] In 1883, the Helensville Town Board was formed to administer the area, within the Waitemata County.^[53] In 1947, Helensville split from the country to form an independent borough.^[53] In 1989, the borough merged with Rodney County, forming the Rodney District Council. Rodney District Council was amalgamated into Auckland Council in November 2010.^[54]

Within the Auckland Council, Helensville is a part of the Rodney local government area governed by the Rodney Local Board. It is a part of the Rodney ward, which elects one councillor to the Auckland Council.

Chairmen of the Helensville Town Board

Below is a list of the 18 people who served as the chairman of the Helensville Town Board, the longest of whom was Charles S. West, who served from 1922 to 1924, and again from 1929 to 1938.^[53] The final chairman, Reg Screaton, became the first Mayors of the Helensville Borough in 1947.^[55]

• 1883–1886 Isaac McLeod
• 1886–1888 Henry Ballans
• 1888–1890 Daniel Stewart
• 1890–1893 James McLeod
• 1893–1894 Daniel Stewart
• 1894–1898 Charles H. Spinley
• 1898–1899 J. J. Reynolds
• 1899–1902 Charles H. Spinley
• 1902–1904 Alfred Becroft
• 1904–1908 R. M. Cameron
• 1908–1910 James McLeod
• 1910–1912 James Stewart
• 1912–1914 James McLeod
• 1914–1916 E. T. Field
• 1916–1918 J. T. Lambert
• 1918–1922 James Stewart
• 1922–1924 Charles S. West
• 1924–1929 James Mackie
• 1929–1938 Charles S. West
• 1938–1941 A. H. Brackebnsh
• 1941–1941 Dr F. Matheson
• 1941–1944 J. A. Stanaway
• 1944–1945 K. A. Snedden
• 1945–1947 Reg Screaton

National

From 1978 until 2020, Helensville was in the Helensville general electorate. In 2020, this electorate was replaced by the Kaipara ki Mahurangi electorate. Helensville is within the Te Tai Tokerau Māori electorate.