Island Bay United is an amateur association football club resident in the south coast suburb of Island Bay in New Zealand’s capital Wellington. The club was founded in 1931 as Wellington Technical College Old Boys. In 1966 the name was changed to Island Bay United. The green white and red flag at the bottom of the club’s crest reflects the past and ongoing influence of descendants of the many Italian families who emigrated to Island Bay in the late 19th century to fish the tumultuous waters of Cook Strait.

Island Bay lies on the bay which shares its name, one of numerous small bays off Cook Strait. Five hundred metres offshore in Island Bay lies Tapu Te Ranga Island, which forms a natural breakwater and provides a sheltered anchorage for local fishing boats.

Tapu te Ranga is said to be Patawa, a point from which the legendary Maori chief Kupe sighted the giant octopus Te Wheke-a-Muturangi, which he pursued across Cook Strait. In pre-European times Island Bay was home to several pa including Te Mupunga Kainga, today represented with a pou in Shorland Park. A succession of iwi occupied Island Bay including Ngai Tara and Ngati Ira. A famous battle took place on the beach of Island Bay when a raiding war party from Muau-poko were making their way to the Ngai Tara stronghold of Te Whetu-Kairangi, a fortified pa on what is now Miramar peninsular, then an island. In the morning, Ngai Tara warriors came down from the Uruhau fort (Southgate) and engaged Muau-poko in battle on the beach. Two muaupoko chiefs were killed, and later cremated in Haewai (Houghton Bay). This battle is commemorated with a pou on the zig-zag leading from Liffey street to Orchy crescent.

In Treaty of Waitangi settlements, both Te Atiawa and Ngati Toa have claimed tangata whenua status over Tapu te Ranga Island

In the early days of European settlement George Hunter was the chief proprietor of the Island Bay Estate where he bred stock on his stud farm. The Island Bay portion was subdivided and auctioned in March 1879. In the late 19th century, Island Bay was settled by Italian and Shetlander fishermen. In 1905, Wellington's tramline was extended to Island Bay, increasing the area's popularity and steadily transforming it into a seaside suburb. Many Island Bay villas, bungalows and shops date from the 1920s, a period of rapid development for the area. This included the subdivision of the Island Bay Racecourse which was once bounded by Clyde Street on the East and Ribble Street on the West. Many streets in Island Bay were named after British and European rivers.