Helensville

Helensville is a town in the North Island of New Zealand. It is sited 40 kilometres northwest of Auckland, close to the southern extremity of the Kaipara Harbour. State Highway 16 passes through the town, connecting it to Waimauku 16 kilometres to the south, and Kaukapakapa about 12 kilometres to the north-east. Parakai is two kilometres to the north-west. The Kaipara River runs through the town and into the Kaipara Harbour to the north.

Tāmaki Māori settled the southern Kaipara Harbour in the 13th or 14th centuries, drawn by the marine and forest resources. The upper reaches of the Kaipara River was the location of Te Tōangaroa, a portage where waka could be hauled between the Kaipara Harbour and the Waitematā Harbour. By the 15th century, the area had become home to some of the earliest pā sites in the Auckland Region. By the early 18th century, Ngāti Whātua, who had traditional ties to the area, had re-established themselves along the Kaipara River.

Helensville was established as a kauri logging settlement in 1862, developing into a regional centre for the south Kaipara by the 1870s. Helensville became a major centre for the dairy industry between 1911 and the 1980s.

The Kauri logging and gum industries went into decline by 1900, disappearing by 1920. The Helensville Show, an annual agricultural show, was established in 1900, becoming a major part of life at Helensville, and drawing people from the surrounding areas to the town. In 1911, the Kaipara Dairy Company was established in Helensville, becoming the town's largest employer, and the town flourished due to the dairy industry and sheep farms. Additionally, tourists were drawn to Helensville in the early 20th century, due to the Parakai thermal springs.

The dairy factory closed in the late 1980s, due to a decline in farming profitability in the area. The sand extraction industry became a major employer in the town, after Mt Rex and Winstone established processing facilities near the town in the 1990s.

Today Helensville has a well equipped town centre and provides a lifestyle opportunity within commuting distance to the city.