The mouth of the Hutt River has moved significantly in its history, meandering from one side of Petone to the other. More recently, since European settlement, it changed direction to its current course due to a major earthquake in 1855 which raised the riverbed.
The river was named after Sir William Hutt, chairman of the New Zealand Company. One of the Maori names for the river was Heretaunga, which is also the name of an Upper Hutt suburb and secondary school. The river has a good stock of brown trout, and can be walked or cycled from Upper Hutt to Petone along tracks on either side, though the eastern bank is more accessible.
Members of the public can regualary be seen fishing along these lower banks of an evening, and it is not uncommon to see Kawhai and the occasional brown trout pulled from this exact spot.
Recently the Hutt City Council has extended the Hutt River Trail bike track to pass this point, and this is also where the trail joins the Greater Wellington Regional Councils Great Harbour Way walking and cycle route.