Māori history s have been found on the shores of the Kaipātiki Creek 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, The poor clay soils of the area were not suitable for Māori traditional gardening techniques, meaning Glenfield was not as densely settled as other areas of the North Shore, such as the
Upper Waitematā Harbour eastern shores or the
Devonport-
Takapuna areas. The forests of the inland North Shore were a place where berries were harvested. Archaeological
middens have been found on the shores of the Kaipātiki Creek, and Manuka Road was originally an (traditional path) linking
Oruamo or Hellyers Creek to the central North Shore. The warrior Maki migrated from the
Kāwhia Harbour to his ancestral home in the
Auckland Region, likely sometime in the 17th century. Maki conquered and unified many the Tāmaki Māori tribes as
Te Kawerau ā Maki, including those of the North Shore. 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. 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 One of the earliest land sales to European settlers in Auckland took place near Glenfield on 17 April 1837, when
Ngāti Whātua rangatira Nanihi and Tuire sold Te Pukapuka, a block to American whaler William Webster, at the north-eastern headwaters of
Oruamo or Hellyers Creek, near
Bayview. Webster on-sold the land to Thomas Hellyer on 13 October 1840, who established the Retreat, a house which included a
kauri sawpit, a hut, and a workshop. The Retreat became well known among sailors, who would stop at the Retreat for fresh water and beer from the Retreat's brewhouse. In 1891, Mayfield School was opened, becoming a social centre for the growing area. Events such as card nights and concerts were held at the school in the 1900s, and residents complained of events where alcohol was consumed, which often left the school in a poor state, and was seen as causing rowdy behaviour and mayhem in the community. In 1912, the area was officially renamed Glenfield, due to issues the post office had with the name Mayfield being confused with
Mayfield in the
Canterbury Region. Most of the suburb was developed in the 1960s, with the western areas of Glenfield developing into suburban housing later on. With a rapidly increasingly population, the Waitemata County Council decided to establish a rubbish dump on reclaimed land in the
Oruamo or Hellyers Creek foreshore in 1969. The plans were widely protested by residents, and were scuppered by the
New Zealand Airforce, who insisted that no landfills could be located within one nautical mile of the
RNZAF Base at
Whenuapai or the
RNZAF Station Hobsonville. Glenfield was one of the most rapidly developing areas of New Zealand in the early 1970s. On 9 December 1971, in response to fears about commercial sprawl down the length of Glenfield Road,
Glenfield Mall opened. It was the first shopping mall on the North Shore. The Glenfield Library was constructed in 1975. In 2000, Glenfield Mall was redeveloped as a more modern shopping centre. ==Notable people==