Helensville () is a town in the North Island of New Zealand. It is sited northwest of Auckland, close to the southern extremity of the Kaipara Harbour. State Highway 16 passes through the town, connecting it to Waimauku to the south, and Kaukapakapa about to the north-east. Parakai is to the north-west. The Kaipara River runs through the town and into the Kaipara Harbour to the north. Early history 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. In 1862 John McLeod established a kauri timber mill on the eastern banks of the Kaipara River, opposite the Te Awaroa village. McLeod named his house "Helen's Villa", after his wife, which became the name for the township that developed around the timber mill. From the 1850s to the 1870s, Ngāti Whātua gifted and sold land to the Crown, hoping this would help stimulate the economy of the area by the creation of European settlements and schools (by 1900, after a process of land alienation, Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara only retained 10% of their traditional rohe). Helensville developed around these blocks of land, growing after the establishment of the North Auckland Line in the 1870s and 1880s. In 1882, the McLeods joined with other investors to create the Helensville Timber Company, who milled forestry around the catchments of the Kaipara River until 1892. Initial development of Helensville was around the kauri milling industry, but by the start of the 20th century dairying was becoming of increasing importance. It was also becoming somewhat of a tourist centre, owing to