Glen Eden is a suburb of West Auckland, New Zealand, located at the foothills of Waitākere Ranges. Originally known as Waikumete, the suburb gained the name Glen Eden in 1921. The suburb is in the Waitākere Ward, one of the thirteen administrative areas of Auckland governed by Auckland Council. Originally part of the rohe of Te Kawerau ā Maki, the area developed into orchards during the Colonial era of New Zealand. The Glen Eden railway station opened in 1880, linking the area to central Auckland along the Western Line, and leading to the development of the Waikumete Cemetery. Suburban housing was built in the area in the 1950s and 1960s. Geography The Glen Eden area is located at the foothills of Waitākere Ranges, north of Titirangi. The Waikumete Stream flows north from Titirangi, forming a valley in the centre of the suburb. Glen Eden forms a part of the Waitematā-Waitākere foothills ecological zone. Sheltered from the Tasman Sea by the Waitākere Ranges, the area was traditionally dominated by forests of kauri, Phyllocladus trichomanoides (tānekaha or celery pine) and rimu, with abundant nīkau palm and silver fern. The soils are a mix of Miocene Waitākere volcanic soil and Waitemata Group sedimentary rock. History The area is within the traditional rohe of Te Kawerau ā Maki, an iwi that traces their ancestry to some of the earliest inhabitants of the Auckland Region. West Auckland was known as Hikurangi, and the area of the upper catchments of Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek was known as Ōkaurirahi, a reference to the mature kauri forests of the area. The northern Glen Eden and Kelston area was called Onewherowhero, a reference to the red coloured clay found in the area. Te Kawerau ā Maki had a kāinga near modern Holdens Road in Oratia, close to Glen Eden. In 1825, most members of Te Kawerau ā Maki fled the area for refuge in the Waikato during the Musket Wars, with a small number remaining in the area to maintain ahi kā (fires of continuous occupation). After the Musket Wars, Te Kawerau ā Maki returned to the area in the 1830s. Most members chose to settle close to a defensive pā at Te Henga / Bethells Beach. After the 1840 signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, paramount chief Apihai Te Kawau of the iwi now known as Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei made a tuku (strategic gift) of land at