The stream begins in the Waitākere Ranges, flowing east through the rural locality of Henderson Valley.[2] In suburban Auckland, the river changes course, flowing north-east through Western Heights and Henderson.[2] At Te Kōpua (modern-day Falls Park / Tui Glen Reserve), the stream meets Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek, an estuarine arm of the Waitematā Harbour. The stream has five major tributaries in the Henderson Valley: the Pukearuhe Stream,[3] Anamata Stream,[4] Driving Stream,[5] Parekura Stream[6] and Stoney Creek.[7]
The land adjacent to the stream forms an alluvial flood zone, which was historically forested by tōtara, tītoki and west coast kōwhai.[8]
The stream is in the traditional rohe of Te Kawerau ā Maki,[10] and was traditionally known as Te Wai-ō-Panuku ("The Stream of Panuku") or Ōpanuku.[11][10] Ōpanuku was also a name used for the Henderson Valley in general.[2] The stream is named after one of the oldest Te Kawerau ā Maki ancestors, Panuku, who was the wife of Parekura, and died after being kidnapped by Nihotupu.[11][10] The stream represents the life force of Panuku.[10]
Near Rua ō Te Whenua, the hill in the Waitākere Ranges where the stream begins, was one of the traditional burial areas of Te Kawerau ā Maki.[10] The mid-section of the river is the location of Ōpareira, a former kāinga (unfortified settlement),[11] while the Border Road Esplanade area in the lower stream was known as Waitaro, referring to the taro plants which grew there.[11][10] The point where the Ōpanuku Stream meets Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek (modern-day Falls Park / Tui Glen Reserve) was known as Te Kōpua, and was the location of a strategic pā for Te Kawerau ā Maki.[11]
The stream was one of the first streams in West Auckland to be dammed for kauri logging in the 1850s.[1] The river was used to transport logs from the Waitākere Ranges to the Henderson Mill.[12]
The northern banks of the Ōpanuku Stream at Henderson became a vineyard for Lebanese New Zealander Assid Abraham Corban in 1907.[13] In the late 1920s, a flood washed out the bridges that crossed the Ōpanuku Stream.[14]
Between the mid-2000s and the 2020s, large-scale riparian planting was undertaken along the Ōpanuku Stream as a part of Project Twin Streams.[10]