The King Country is largely made up of rolling hill country, including the Rangitoto and Hauhungaroa Ranges. It includes extensive karst regions, producing such features as the Waitomo Caves. The area is largely rural and sparsely settled, with no cities or large towns. The most significant townships are the rural service centres of Te Kuiti and Taumarunui.
Economy
The greater part of the region's economy is involved in farming and forestry, with some supporting services. There are some areas of tourist significance, such as Waitomo Caves. The King Country also contains areas of conservation estate, especially Pureora Forest Park. From 1966 to 31 March 2010, King Country Radio operated from Taumarunui.
History
Prior to European settlement, the area was occupied by various Māoriiwi, especially Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Tama, and Ngāti Tuwharetoa. In July 1863, Governor Sir George Grey ordered the invasion of the Waikato by British troops, with support from small numbers of Māori. The invasion was aimed at crushing Kingite power that was seen as a threat to British authority, and also at driving Waikato Māori from their territory in readiness for occupation and settlement by Europeans. Heavily outnumbered and disadvantaged by superior firepower, the Kingite forces retreated southwards from the Waikato after the battle at Ōrākau in April 1864, eventually being forced to flee to Maniapoto land, later called the King Country. At this time, the region received a Māori name, Rohe pōtae. This name translates as "Area of the Hat", and is said to have originated when the second Māori KingTāwhiao put his white top hat on a large map of the North Island and declared that all land covered by the hat would be under his mana. Heavy British losses at the battle of Gate Pā at Tauranga in April 1864 prompted General Duncan Cameron to abandon plans for further military campaigns in the Waikato area, and Grey and the colonial government were forced to accept this decision. The King Country, mountainous, poor and isolated, was not an attractive conquest. King Tāwhiao and his followers were able to maintain a rebel Māori monarchy in exile and a refuge for rebel Māori opposed to the government for more than a decade although living conditions were very poor. This may be partly due to the large influx of about 3,500 Waikato people who swamped the resources of the approximately 800 Maniapoto living in the rohe. On 15 May 1872 Te Kooti, on the run from government forces, crossed the Waikato River and entered the territory as supplicant and was granted asylum. In 1880, William Moffat, apparently a land agent or buyer, was shot and killed. In 1881, as a result of ongoing friction with his hosts over the question of land sales, and a general amnesty being granted to the rebels, Tāwhiao emerged and laid down the King Movement's arms. After successful negotiations between the government, Wahanui, Rewi and Taonui, including a pardon for Te Kooti by 1883 the King Country was made accessible to Europeans. It was opened to road surveying, and the start of the Main Trunk Line - but with a prohibition on the sale of alcohol throughout the district. At a March 1883 meeting, John Bryce got a compact that allowed the surveying of the rail route. At a February 1885 meeting at Kihikihi with John Ballance construction of the line was approved. Ballance was criticised for not requiring cession of land alongside the route, but he knew that would not be acceptable to Māori. Construction of the railway began in 1885, and finished in 1908, with the completion greatly improving transport and communications in the King Country, promoting settlement and farming in the area - as well as assisting in the growth of rural service towns such as Taumarunui which was an important railway depot until the 1950s. The alcohol ban lasted until 1953 - as a young man, John A. Lee was jailed for smuggling alcohol into the area around 1910.
