The area around Helensville was originally called "Te Awaroa", meaning "The long path" or "The long river valley". Most Māori settlements prior to European contact were located along the eastern coast of South Head and along the banks of the Kaipara River. Ōtakanini Pā, located near Parkhurst, was occupied by Māori since at least 1400AD. The pā located around the Kaipara area likely represent some of the earliest fortified pā in Auckland. The Te Taoū hapu of Ngāti Whātua settled the southern Kaipara Harbour and Kaipara River areas. Most Ngāti Whātua retreated from the area in 1825 after the battle of Te Ika a Ranganui in 1825 against Ngāpuhi, returning around 1835. After the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in the 1840s and 1850s, Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara shipped produce grown from the Kaipara River area and seafood from the Kaipara Harbour to Auckland, and traded kauri wood and gum to settlers.