In early European times, it was a sparsely settled dairy farming area between the townships of Panmure and Howick. In the 1920s and 30s it was served by a bus that ran from Bucklands Beach known as the "shiek". In the 1930s a concrete road was built between these townships that improved transport times for people and milk. Although there had been a hinged steel bridge over the Tamaki River to Panmure from as early as 1866, it was not until the construction of a sturdier structure across the Tamaki River in the 1950s, coinciding with a demand for more settlement land and the increasing levels of car ownership, that Pakuranga became suburban. In the 70s it was considered the typical New Zealand middle class suburb, 'Vim Valley', after 'a typical Pakuranga housewife' was featured in a famous cleaning product ad.