Glen Murray was settled by Ngāti Tipa.[8] In 1864 the area was described as inaccessible to the British troops in the Invasion of the Waikato, due to the swamps and bush.[9]
Glen Murray landing, on Opuatia Stream, to the north of the village
However, by 1866 it was in the confiscated area.[10] By 1868 large parcels of land had been surveyed.[11] As part of a policy of opening up land for settlement under the deferred payment scheme, the Government built bridleways from the Waikato River, to give access to two 20,000 acres (8,100 ha) blocks. The northernmost of the 2 routes began at Churchill, a settlement which then stood on the west bank of the river about 4 mi (6.4 km) west of Rangiriri. By 1881, 10 mi (16 km) had been opened as far as Glen Murray, through heavy swamp at the Churchill end. By 1883 a through track from the Waikato River to the West Coast was in existence.[12]
In 1881 a road was constructed from Churchill west to Glen Murray, and in 1882 a road south from Glen Murray towards Naike was surveyed. In 1893 a post office opened, with a telephone from 1905.[11]
Whangape Lake and neighbouring streams were used for transport, a Whangape Launch Company being set up in 1906 to convey goods from Rangiriri.[13] Earlier, in 1894, Parliament had been asked to "have obstructions in the shape of eel weirs removed from the navigable creeks flowing from Whangape Lake into the Waikato River, to enable steamers now running on the Waikato River to carry goods for settlers in that district."[14] In 1889 the weir had been partly removed to allow a boat to get through.[15]
