Portage Road is the location of one of the historical portage overland routes between the two coasts. Here the Maori would beach their waka (canoes) and drag them overland to the other coast, thus avoiding having to paddle around North Cape. A second portage was named Karetu and went between the extreme north-east corner of the Manukau harbour to a bay close to the site of the newest bridge across the Tamaki, about south of the Panmure basin. The portages made the area of immense strategic importance in both pre-European times and during the early years of European occupation.