The direct continuator of the West Coast Gazette, the fortnightly tabloid newspaper Waitakere Gazette was first published on 15 March 1952 by Noel E. Roseman.

The new name, a reference to the nearby Waitākere Ranges, better represented the communities covered by the newspaper, which included most of West Auckland. The name change may also have marked a change in tack, since Roseman abandoned his former printer and began a years-long search to find a new one at this time. In fact, the Gazette changed its dimensions several times between 1951 and 1961, from an extended tabloid format to a standard tabloid to a unique Rhenish size that was midway between a tabloid and a broadsheet. In November 1959, the paper expanded to a full broadsheet and remained as such until September 1961, when it permanently became a tabloid. Roseman finally settled his printing problems when he acquired the plant and goodwill of Papakura’s Ribbon News-Pictorial in 1958.

In June 1955, Roseman incorporated Suburban Publishers Ltd and began expanding into other suburbs. He purchased the Avondale Dispatch and Pt. Chevalier Gazette in 1955, and the Ponsonby Gazette in 1956, and merged these into the Western Suburbs Gazette in June 1957. This title lasted until at least 28 November 1958, but then disappears without a trace. On 31 October 1957, the Waitakere Gazette became a weekly paper. In February 1961, Suburban Publishers acquired the Henderson Independent and briefly ran it as the Henderson Gazette before merging it into the Waitakere Gazette in April 1961. This prompted Roseman to switch the Gazette to a twice weekly publication.

On 1 March 1962, the Gazette reverted to a weekly publication when the West Auckland Press was spun off as its own newspaper, published on Tuesdays and continuing from the Henderson Gazette. In late February 1965, the Waitakere Gazette was taken over by Wilson & Horton Ltd, publishers of the New Zealand Herald. It continued to be published weekly on Thursdays until 31 March 1966, when its ownership switched to West Auckland Gazette Ltd, a subsidiary of Suburban Newspapers Ltd that had just acquired control of both newspapers. The two titles were merged on 5 April 1966 as the West Auckland Gazette.