Māori history , depicting Māori settlement of the
Auckland Region began around the 13th or 14th centuries. The Devonport-Takapuna area was one of the earliest settled in the region, known to be settled by the
Tāmaki Māori ancestor Peretū.
Toi-te-huatahi and his followers settled and interwed with these early peoples. Around the year 1350, the
Tainui migratory canoe visited the Takapuna area, stopping at the freshwater spring southwest of
Maungauika / North Head. Over time, the descendants of these people began to identify as
Ngā Oho and
Ngāi Tai. 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.
Lake Pupuke and Te Riri a Mataaho Lake Pupuke was an important location to Tāmaki Māori of the North Shore. It was used a source of fresh water, and its name ("Overflowing Sea") referred to how the fresh water would habitually flow out from the lake to the sea. As a part of
traditional burial practices, bodies would be wrapped in flax mats and placed in a sitting position in the trees, with the dead later being buried once their bodies had naturally decomposed. In the early 2000s, the
North Shore City Council built a boardwalk through the grove.
Early colonial period depicted in an 1873 watercolour The first land purchases at Takapuna were undertaken by Henry Taylor and Alexander Sparks in November 1839. These land sales were later disallowed, and Takapuna was purchased by
the Crown on 13 April 1841 as a part of the Mahurangi Block. Farms were auctioned in 1844, and the first European farmers arrived in the Takapuna area in 1847. Early European settlers were predominantly from England, Scotland and Ireland, and they established farms around the lake. Crops such as wheat, maize, barley, potatoes and
kūmara were grown at these farms, and homesteads planted single acre orchards dominated by plums, apples and peaches. In 1849, the
Catholic Church purchased land at Takapuna, where
Jean-Baptiste Pompallier established
St Mary's College, a school and later seminary that catered to both European and
Māori. In 1852, the Crown granted of land south of Lake Pupuke to Barry's Point / Awataha to
Ngāpuhi chief
Eruera Maihi Patuone, in order to create a shield for the City of Auckland against potential invasion from Ngāpuhi and other northern tribes. Patuone's people lived in the area until the 1880s. Patuone named his settlement , meaning "Waters of Wharariki", a mat made of
harakeke flax. Patuone's lands at included a peach tree orchard and a village of twenty huts. Many Ngāpuhi from the settlement worked on the farms at Lake Pupuke, establishing a network of fences for the properties. In 1863, the first subdivisions were created in Takapuna, where villas were constructed on the eastern shores of Lake Pupuke. The streets were named after famous lakes of the world. A ferry service began to operate from Barry's Point at Shoal Bay, and the Takapuna Hotel was established in 1863 near the ferry launch. and the Pupuke Estate in 1889. The Takapuna and Milford Beach areas, as well as the land surrounding Lake Pupuke soon became popular spots for wealthy businessmen building summer homes to entertain in a rural surrounding, and eventually, many moved here permanently, commuting to work in Auckland via ferry. The plan was a success, leading to rapid suburban development in Takapuna. causing an explosion of suburban growth across the North Shore. In 2000, the Southern Cross Internet cable landed on Takapuna beach to connect New Zealand to Australia and the US. In 2021 the same landing site was used for that cable's successor, Southern Cross NEXT. In 1996, the Bruce Mason Centre was opened as an events venue for Takapuna. In the late 1990s, the former Smale family farm was redeveloped into Smales Farm, a commercial complex adjacent to the motorway. The Clear Communications Centre opened here in 1999. ==Demographics==