Māori history Māori settlement of the
Auckland Region began around the 13th or 14th centuries. The North Shore was settled by
Tāmaki Māori, including people descended from the
Tainui migratory canoe and ancestors of figures such as Taikehu and Peretū. Many of the early Tāmaki Māori people of the North Shore identified as
Ngā Oho, and the Lucas Creek has significance to modern iwi including
Ngāti Manuhiri, The poor clay soils of the area were not suitable for Māori traditional gardening techniques, but the creek was a good source for eels, crayfish and flounder. An (traditional path) connected Lucas Creek and the
Ōkura River to the north, which led to
Long Bay and the upper
Hauraki Gulf. This was used as a
portage, where
waka could be hauled overland between the two bodies of water, which follows the ridge line of Lonely Track Road. The upper Lucas Creek area was the location of several
kāinga, After Maki's death, his sons settled different areas of his lands, creating new
hapū. His younger son Maraeariki settled the
North Shore and
Hibiscus Coast, who based himself at the head of the
Ōrewa River. Maraeariki's daughter Kahu succeeded him, and she is the namesake of the North Shore, ("The Greater Lands of Kahu"), Many of the iwi of the North Shore, including
Ngāti Manuhiri, Ngāti Maraeariki, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Poataniwha,
Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki and
Ngāti Whātua, can trace their lineage to Kahu. By the first half of the 19th century, the mouth of the Lucas Creek to the southwest of Albany was one of the most densely settled areas of the North Shore by Tāmaki Māori peoples. During the early 1820s, most Māori of the North Shore fled for the
Waikato or
Northland due to the threat of war parties during the
Musket Wars. When Tāmaki Māori returned in greater numbers to the Auckland Region in the mid-1830s, Te Kawerau ā Maki focused settlement at
Te Henga / Bethells Beach.
Early European settlement: kauri logging and gum digging The Albany area was a part of the Mahurangi Block, which was purchased by the
New Zealand Government in 1841. While
kauri logging was one of the first industries in the area, the supply of kauri was exhausted by the early 1840s. By the late 1840s,
kauri gum digging had become a more prominent industry for the Lucas Creek area. Itinerant gum diggers would scour the area for kauri resin to sell at stores, including one located at
Schnapper Rock. In the 1990s, commune leaders including founder Bert Potter were charged on child sexual abuse and drug charges. Strawberry and dairy farms were redeveloped into lifestyle blocks and intensive housing, beginning in the late 1980s, and the Albany Shopping Centre was greatly expanded by 2007 to cover , including over 140 retailers including
Farmers,
Kmart,
New World and
JB Hi-Fi. Development in Albany slowed with the
2008 financial crisis. In 2007, the
Upper Harbour Motorway was opened, creating a motorway connection between
West Auckland and the
North Shore via Greenhithe. In 2008, the
Northern Busway was opened along the Northern Motorway, which included the
Albany busway station. ==Local government==