King Country

The King Country is a region of the western North Island of New Zealand. It it bounded roughly by the Kawhia Harbour and the town of Otorohanga in the north, the Hauhungaroa and Rangitoto Ranges in the east, and the upper reaches of the Whanganui River in the south, and consists largely of rough hilly country, much of it forested.

The term is not used to donate an officially designated territorial administrative unit, but is still in wide common parlance. Administratively, it is partly within the Waikato region and partly within Manawatu-Wanganui. The main centres within the King Country are Te Kuiti, Ohura, and Taumarunui.

The term King Country dates from the Maori Wars of the 1860s. When the colonial government invaded the Waikato in 1863, the Maori forces of the King Movement withdrew to the south. The land that they withdrew to became the country of the King Movement, shortened over time to simply "The King Country".