Henderson () is a major suburb of West Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is west of Auckland city centre, and west of the Whau River, a southwestern arm of the Waitematā Harbour. The suburb is located within the Henderson-Massey Local Board of the Waitākere Ward, one of the thirteen administrative divisions of Auckland Council. Geography Henderson is located between the Waitākere Ranges to the west, and the Te Atatū Peninsula in the east. The area is within the catchment of Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek, an estuarial arm of the upper Waitematā Harbour. The Opanuku, Oratia, Swanson, Momutu and Paremuka streams meet at Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek, to the north of Henderson. Between 3 and 5 million years ago, tectonic forces uplifted the Waitākere Ranges and central Auckland, while subsiding the Manukau and upper Waitematā Harbours. The land at Henderson is formed from Waitemata Group sandstone, which was previously found at the bottom of a deep sedimentary basin. Land close to Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek and the Waitematā Harbour are formed from rhyolitic clays and peat, formed from eroding soil and interactions with the harbour. Prior to human contact, the Henderson area was home to broadleaf forests, dominated by pūriri, karaka, kohekohe and māhoe trees. The alluvial creek/harbour zone was favoured by kahikatea, pukatea and rātā, with tī kōuka (cabbage trees) flourishing in wetter sites. History Henderson is in the traditional rohe of Te Kawerau ā Maki, and the name Ōpanuku refers to the Opanuku Stream, traditionally known as Te Wai-ō-Panuku ("The Stream of Panuku"), Panuku being the name of one of the earliest Te Kawerau ā Maki ancestors. The lower Opanuku Stream area was called Waitaro, referring to the taro cultivations grown there. The point where the Opanuku and Oratia Streams meet (the Tui Glen Reserve / Falls Park area) is the beginning of Te Wai-o-Pareira, also known as the Henderson Creek, and the point where the creek became navigable by waka. This point was strategically important to Te Kawerau ā Maki, and was the location of a small fortified pā known as Te Kōpua. Kōpūpāka was the name of a kāinga close to Te Kōpua, which was used as a temporary settlement by Ngāti Whātua during the Musket Wars in the 1820s, during a brief lull in conflict. After the Musket Wars, Te Kawerau ā Maki returned to the area in the