Les Parsons, of Dunedin, spent the first 27 years of his life in the bay, where he became the chief milk boy.
Through his job he got to know "most of the people in the area" and "started researching it for my own benefit".
The Hocken Library became his second home as he spent hours sifting through archives before compiling his findings on his home computer.
He recorded a street directory listing past and present residents for each address, including businesses, in the area up to 1957.
As others heard of his effort, they encouraged him to research further afield - to include Company Bay.
"More people are becoming interested in this sort of thing.
As each generation goes, it becomes more important to record it," he said.
As age and ill-health took its toll, he passed the project on to Brian Miller, who secured funding last week from the Otago Peninsula Community Board to turn it, and another project on family histories, into booklets.
These would be placed in local research facilities and libraries for the public to access.
Mr Miller, with his wife Diane, wrote a comprehensive social history of the bay which became a book in October and had sold more than 600 copies so far.
He was keen to help Mr Parsons because "it's really, really vital to get this down".
He hoped their actions would trigger others to consider doing the same for their areas.
The Macandrew Bay Residents Directory and Macandrew Bay Memories Book will be printed in January.
