The suburb is in the Waitākere Ward, one of the thirteen administrative divisions of Auckland Council. It was named after early colonial settler Thomas Henderson, a Scottish immigrant who purchased land from Ngati Whatua in 1844 and sestablished a timber mill in the area in ca. 1847 to process the logs of kauri trees which were cut from the Henderson Valley and further upstream, from the eastern flanks of the Waitākere Ranges. Henderson features a large shopping centre, WestCity Waitakere, with numerous other shops and large-scale stores also in the area. The West Wave pool in Henderson, owned by the Auckland Council, was built to host the Aquatics at the 1990 Commonwealth Games. On the outskirts of Henderson is the Corban's Wine Estate, a major New Zealand export wine brand. The Corban's Estate Arts Centre hosts the annual InterACT Disability Arts Festival. Henderson railway station is adjacent to the main shopping centre and a bus interchange. The suburb is also served by the Sturges Road railway station. The LocalMember of Parliament for Henderson is Phil Twyford, the MP for Te Atatū, who keeps an office in the suburb. At the northern end of Henderson, near the Lincoln Road motorway interchange, the Toroa, a historic ferry under restoration, is a well-known local landmark.
Demographics
Henderson, comprising the statistical areas of Henderson Central, Henderson Valley Park, Henderson North East and Henderson East, had a population of 8,706 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 777 people since the 2013 census, and an increase of 1,677 people since the 2006 census. There were 2,892 households. There were 4,179 males and 4,533 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.92 males per female, with 1,704 people aged under 15 years, 1,830 aged 15 to 29, 3,636 aged 30 to 64, and 1,542 aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 48.2% European/Pākehā, 15.3% Māori, 22.2% Pacific peoples, 26.8% Asian, and 3.6% other ethnicities. The proportion of people born overseas was 40.2%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 37.0% had no religion, 44.6% were Christian, and 12.0% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 1,272 people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 1,422 people had no formal qualifications. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 3,234 people were employed full-time, 747 were part-time, and 333 were unemployed.
Local government
Henderson was formerly governmentally independent from Auckland. The local government was called Henderson Borough Council, which incorporated in 1946 and merged into Waitakere City Council in 1989. The Waitakere City Council was amalgamated into the Auckland Council in November 2010.
is a secondary school with a roll of students. The high school was founded in 1953 Henderson School and Henderson South School are contributing primary schools with rolls of and students, respectively. Henderson School was founded in 1873 and Henderson South School in 1967. Holy Cross School, a Catholic primary school, is a full primary school with a roll of students. It celebrated its 75th jubilee in 2007. All these schools are coeducational. Rolls are as at.
