 Hawksbury is sometimes erroneously referred to as Evansdale, owing to the prominent signage on the Evansdale Cheese factory, which moved to Hawkesbury from Evansdale in the 1990s.The nearby Matanaka Farm, which contains New Zealand's oldest surviving farm buildings, was first settled by the pioneer whaler Johnny Jones in 1840.Cherry Farm was named for Captain Cherry, the master of one of Jones's ships.