Half Moon Bay, Auckland

Ōhuiarangi / Pigeon Mountain was an important defended pā site for Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, surrounded by stonefield gardens

The Half Moon Bay area is part of the rohe of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, who descend from the crew of the Tainui migratory waka, who visited the area around the year 1300.[10] The mouth of the Tāmaki River was traditionally known as Te Wai ō Tāiki ("The Waters of Tāiki"), named after the Ngāi Tai ancestor Tāiki. Tāiki settled with his followers along the eastern shores of the Tāmaki River, alongside the descendants of Huiārangi of the early iwi Te Tini ō Maruiwi.[11]

Ōhuiarangi / Pigeon Mountain was an important pā site for Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, named after ancestress Huiārangi, daughter of Tāmaki of Te Tini ō Maruiwi.[10] The slopes of the mountain and surrounding areas were home to extensive stonefield gardens, and the mountain was an important location for snaring kererū.[10] In approximately the first half of the 18th century, Ngāriki, a rangatira of Ngāi Tai, built a fortified pā at Te Naupata (Musick Point), the headland at the end of the peninsula, called Te Waiārohia (a shortening of Te Waiārohia ō Ngāriki).[11][12] The followers of Ngāriki also settled at the Ōhuiarangi pā.[13] From the 1790s, Te Rangitāwhia was the paramount chief of Ngāi Tai, whose principal residences were at Waiārohia and to the south at Ōhuiarangi / Pigeon Mountain.[11] After the village was attacked by Kapetaua of the related iwi Te Patukirikiri, Ngāi Tai built a smaller pā on the mountain.[10]

During the Musket Wars in the 1820s, the Half Moon Bay area was evacuated, and the lands became tapu to Ngāi Tai due to the events of the conflict.[14][15] Most members of Ngāi Tai fled to the Waikato for temporary refuge during this time, and when English missionary William Thomas Fairburn visited the area in 1833, it was mostly unoccupied.[16]

In 1836, William Thomas Fairburn brokered a land sale between Tāmaki Māori chiefs covering the majority of modern-day South Auckland, East Auckland and the Pōhutukawa Coast.[17] The sale was envisioned as a way to end hostilities in the area, but it is unclear what the chiefs understood or consented to. Māori continued to live in the area, unchanged by this sale.[18] In 1854 when Fairburn's purchase was investigated by the New Zealand Land Commission, a Ngāi Tai reserve was created around the Wairoa River and Umupuia areas, and as a part of the agreement, members of Ngāi Tai agreed to leave their traditional settlements to the west.[19][16]

New housing developing at Half Moon Bay in 1973

In 1847, Howick was established as a defensive outpost for Auckland, by fencibles (retired British Army soldiers) and their families.[20] The area was close to Tamaki Landing, the ferry launching point at Bucklands Beach that connected the area to Panmure and Point England.[21] The bay became known as Barn Bay, or Hancock's Bay, after Herbert John Hancock, a long time tenant of the major farm in the area.[22]

In the early 20th Century, Half Moon Bay became a popular location for picnicking.[22] In 1949, the King George V Memorial Health Camp was opened, as a location for children to recuperate from illness.[23][24] This led to the bay becoming known as Camp Bay.[22]

In 1967, Unit Subdividisons Ltd began subdividing the area, adopting the name Half Moon Bay.[22] A large-scale marina was established in the suburb, which officially opened in 1972.[25] In 1976, a shopping district was opened at the marina.[26]

The Bucklands Beach Yacht Club moved to Half Moon Bay, and opened new clubrooms in 1988.[27] The first ferry services between the Auckland City Centre and Half Moon Bay began in 1999.[28]